Center for Hope Expands Community Outreach

Family Tree Joins LifeBridge Health
LifeBridge Health is pleased to announce that The Family Tree has become an affiliate of LifeBridge Health. The Family Tree is a 50-year-old nationally recognized leader in child abuse prevention and will work with our Center for Hope child advocacy center.

“LifeBridge Health and The Family Tree share a mission to care for families in our community, so having this team join our organization is a natural fit,” says Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health. “Together with Center for Hope, we will use one cohesive voice to prevent child maltreatment.”

“We are excited to join the LifeBridge Health family and complement Center for Hope’s nationally accredited child advocacy center,” says Patricia Cronin, The Family Tree’s executive director. “The Family Tree becomes a sister organization to LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope which advances hope, healing and resilience for those impacted by trauma, abuse and violence. With our combined talent, we will create a Center of Excellence, a multi-disciplinary approach to support informed professional practice, deploy effective prevention and intervention strategies that break the patterns of violence, and support families and children well-being across the life cycle.”

Safe Streets
The Center for Hope is now operating additional Safe Streets locations in the city. Safe Streets is a violence prevention program aimed to stop gun violence through community outreach, education, conflict mediation and more.

Forensic Interview Research and Education Program
The Forensic Interview Research and Education (FIRE) Program at the Center for Hope gives individuals impacted by trauma a voice in forensic contexts. Through educating professionals, supporting effective legal processes, and uniting research and practice to promote innovative evidence-based techniques, FIRE has become a national model for best practices in forensic interviewing.

Forensic interviewers are clinicians who conduct conversations with children and vulnerable adults in cases of alleged abuse or violent crime. This team has developed a highly successful weeklong Forensic Interview Toolbox (FIT) course, which covers the history, theory and research behind the model, as well as practical skills that participants can immediately implement in their daily work. In addition, FIRE offers Trial Skills for Forensic Interviewers, a course designed to help forensic interviewers develop and refine their ability to testify in court as an expert and/or lay witness. 

Learn more at lifebridgehealth.org/centerforhope

Photo:
Left to right: Patricia Cronin, executive director, The Family Tree; Neil Meltzer, president and CEO, LifeBridge Health; Tom Peltier, board president, The Family Tree; Brian Moffet, board president, LifeBridge Health; Mary Francioli, director of development, The Family Tree; Adam Rosenberg, executive director of Center for Hope and vice president for violence prevention and intervention, LifeBridge Health