Kids Talk

Another specific need as we prepare to reopen: Help us furnish our two lobby waiting areas.

At Kids Talk, our lobby isn’t simply a place where families wait. It’s often the first place we welcome a child and caregiver on what may be an incredibly difficult day.

We work hard to make these spaces feel comfortable, safe and welcoming. Children can curl up with a book, color at a small table, or choose a book to take home. Caregivers can grab a cup of coffee and have a place to sit while we help with paperwork and answer questions.

But important work happens here, too.

It’s where we sit with caregivers to talk about their family’s needs and the effects of child abuse. It’s where we’ve helped families complete protective order applications. And after a forensic interview, our lobbies provide privacy that give us a place to sit with caregivers, answer questions and talk about what comes next.

After the flood, we are rebuilding these spaces from the ground up.
Right now, we need help furnishing both lobby waiting areas so they can once again be the warm, safe spaces our children and families deserve.

If you, your business, church, civic group or organization would like to help furnish one of these areas — or purchase a specific item — we would be incredibly grateful.

Every chair, couch, table and piece of furniture helps us say the same thing to a family when they walk through our doors: You are welcome here. You are safe here. We are here to help.

Our Amazon Wish List Link is below. Pictures of the specific furniture items on our wish list that we need are in the comments.

Check out my list on Amazon

UPDATE: Thank you to our generous donors who have sent money and made purchases for this need. I’m thrilled to announce that both of our forensic interview rooms will be completely furnished when we re-open our office. Because of you, children will have a comfortable setting to speak with us.

Tomorrow, we will post about some specific needs for our lobbies.

An update on the Kids Talk office since the flood:

We are reopening soon - and right now, we don’t have a place for a child to sit in our forensic interview room.

Picture a small child, feet dangling from the couch, preparing to tell us about what may have been the most difficult day of their life.

We need one or two donors to step forward to purchase a loveseat and/or armchair from our Amazon Wish List before we reopen in the coming weeks. Or could you pay a portion towards this by purchasing Amazon gift cards that we would use toward these purchases?

After losing all of our furniture in the flood, this is one specific need you can help us fill.

Sometimes helping a child begins with something as simple as giving them a safe place to sit.

Armchair link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D78V79V8/?coliid=I11K0LUVGF2LAJ&colid=33UQR91YQQF8X&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_lstpd_1VGNTXP7D32C9ABQTAZQ

Loveseat link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H373JL67/?coliid=I2G5R0SK9K9YJB&colid=33UQR91YQQF8X&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_lstpd_61YX5YQRNJD87PPJD8F4

Another loveseat option
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H1HP3WYD/?coliid=I24XMU2X78LQ8Q&colid=33UQR91YQQF8X&psc=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_lstpd_61YX5YQRNJD87PPJD8F4_1

STHOUYN 59" Black Faux Leather Sofa Couch, Small 2 Seater Loveseat | STHOUYN, Modern, Comfy, Tufted Armrest, USB Charger, Living Room, Apartment, Bedroom This black leather 2 seater sofa offers generous seating for families, friends, or office guests, making it the ideal centerpiece for living rooms, waiting rooms, or shared apartments. Its elegant tufted design fits perfectly in a professional reception area, while also creating a warm, inviting ...

Since the area's damaging floods last month, Kids Talk and its community neighbors continue to make progress. 🥰

In the last two weeks, Kids Talk has interviewed 58 children and testified in two jury trials with guilty verdicts.

The Kids Talk team is so grateful for all those partners who have offered everything from a helping hand to donating space, furnishings, food and money to help us continue to serve our children and families. 💗

We anticipate being back in our building in just a few weeks, which makes furniture a high priority. Our biggest needs are a new desk, chair and refrigerator.

🫶Please consider purchasing an item from our Amazon Wish List: https://ow.ly/pMCN50ZBA4W

👉Can you make a monetary donation? Please visit: https://ow.ly/VkKj50ZBA4V.

🤝If you're willing to donate or buy a new furniture item, please contact Kids Talk Director Denise Valdez at (765) 641-8202.

Kids Talk today resumed services as a safe place where children can report abuse or neglect. While our office is closed until further notice, we are partnering with several Madison County agencies who are providing temporary space. 💗

In the meantime, our Kids Talk staff would welcome any assistance! 🤝

Read more on our blog: https://ow.ly/x0S850ZBA4U

🫶Please consider purchasing an item from our Amazon Wish List: https://ow.ly/pMCN50ZBA4W

👉Can you make a monetary donation? Please visit: https://ow.ly/VkKj50ZBA4V.

Today we were finally able to get inside Kids Talk and see the damage for ourselves.

It is devastating.

Seeing the place we have worked so hard to create for children and families in this condition is heartbreaking. This building has been so much more than walls and furniture. It has been a safe place for thousands of children during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

100% of our furniture is ruined. The majority of our supplies are gone. Both refrigerators are destroyed. As we continue going through everything, we are realizing just how much we have lost.

The photos are difficult to look at, but we want our community to understand the reality of what we are facing.

We are heartbroken, but we are not defeated.

We will rebuild.

And while we rebuild, Kids Talk will continue serving children and families thanks to the incredible partners who have stepped up to provide temporary spaces for us.

So many of you have reached out asking how you can help. We cannot begin to tell you what that means to our team. We are working now to determine exactly what we need, what can be replaced and what recovery will require. We will be sharing specific ways to help very soon.

There is a lot of work ahead of us, but one thing hasn’t changed: children in our community still need Kids Talk.

And we will be here for them.

Thank you for caring about this place, our team and, most importantly, the children and families we serve.

A message from Kids Talk Director Denise Valdez:

The flood may have temporarily taken away our building, but it will not stop Kids Talk from serving children and families.

While we are still unable to safely access our building and assess the full extent of the damage, our community partners immediately stepped up to make sure our services can continue.

We are incredibly grateful to the Elwood Police Department and Alexandria Police Department, who quickly offered space and are working to create child-friendly environments where our team can continue providing services during the recovery process. The Madison County Sheriff’s Department is also providing space to help ensure children and families have somewhere safe to go when they need us.

This is what partnership looks like, and we can’t thank them enough.

I also can’t say enough about our Kids Talk team. Yesterday, in the middle of uncertainty and a lot of emotions, they worked tirelessly to develop both a service continuity plan and a recovery plan. Their focus never wavered from the children and families who depend on us. I am incredibly proud of this team and grateful for their commitment to making sure our services continue, even when our usual space cannot.

We have also been overwhelmed by the number of people who have reached out asking, “How can we help?”

Right now, we simply don’t have that answer. Until we are able to safely get inside our building and fully assess the damage, we won’t know exactly what our needs will be.

But we promise we will share them when we do.

For now, please stay tuned for updates as we learn more about the damage, our recovery and ways our community can help.

Most importantly, know this: Kids Talk is still here. We are still serving children. And we are incredibly grateful for a community that is making sure we can continue to do so.

Photo credit to Jeff Watts

We know that many of our neighbors are facing unimaginable losses right now, and our hearts are with every family affected by the flooding. Kids Talk was also significantly impacted. We are working to assess the damage and determine what it will take to restore our space and continue serving children and families. We will share more in the coming days about our needs and ways our community can help. Thank you to our first responders who are working hard for the safety of all of us and especially our law enforcement partners who are keeping us updated about our facility.

💙 A huge THANK YOU to Central Community Chapel for your incredibly generous donation to Kids Talk Child Advocacy Center! 💙

We are so grateful for the thoughtful collection of comfort items, activities, snacks, and supplies that will help bring moments of peace, distraction, and comfort to children walking through some very difficult circumstances. Every coloring book, stuffed animal, snack, and activity matters more than you know.

Your kindness reminds our children that their community cares deeply about them — and that healing can begin with even the smallest acts of compassion.

And judging by the look on his face, Slater, our facility dog, would like everyone to know he fully approves of the donations… especially anything that might come with snack potential. 🐾💙 He’s pretty sure emotional support work is best done with a full belly and extra stuffed animals nearby.

Thank you, Central Community Chapel, for helping us care for kids in Madison County. Your generosity will make a difference. 💙

Enjoy this story about our facility dog and his brother 💙🐾