Chelsey Moore Hucker ’09 and Roma
Read more : Who Daily Loads Us With Benefits Meaning
Chelsey Moore Hucker ’09 and Roma make a great team, one that has made history and is now making a difference in their community.
Hucker was paired with Roma, a trained facility dog, six years ago when she was a prosecutor in the Anderson (S.C.) County Solicitor’s Office.
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“My boss, Anderson County Solicitor Chrissy Adams, wanted to give victims something,” says Hucker. “From the time they come into the system, everything is uncertain. Detectives, social workers, family outreach, legal advocates, counselors, judges, prosecutors — all of these people are new to them. It’s even harder for children. A seven year old doesn’t know these people or understand what it means to go to court. Roma gives victims one thing that’s consistent, one thing they can trust all the way through the process.”
Roma was the first solicitor’s office facility dog in South Carolina, and Hucker, Roma’s owner and primarily handler, piloted the program.
“Humans and animals have evolved together to respond to each other,” says Hucker. “We are alerted by a dog’s bark in the same way that we know not to be scared or worried when we see a calm dog.”
According to Hucker, Roma can do extended down stays. “She’s gone six hours laying under the witness stand without moving,” says Hucker. “She loves, loves, loves children, and doesn’t mind when children look in her ears or tug on her tail. She sits super still and is happy as long as someone is loving on her.”
In turn, people dealing with abuse or trauma or people reliving traumatic situations in court are comforted by Roma’s patient, calm demeanor.
Now the two have teamed up again, but in a different part of the legal system. In January, Hucker was named executive director of Foothills Alliance, a nonprofit organization that serves Anderson and Oconee counties with a sexual trauma center, child advocacy center and child abuse prevention center. Roma comes to work with Hucker every day as the organization’s facility dog. She is at meetings, therapy session, pleas and court dates.
“I thought I would be in the solicitor’s office forever,” says Hucker. “The solicitor’s office does hard, important work, and I was proud to be doing that work in my hometown. Now I’m affecting change in a different way and in a different part of the process that’s just as necessary, but basically invisible. I want to change that.”
The staff at Foothills Alliance bridges the gap between law enforcement and prosecutors. They are trained to do forensic interviews that minimize trauma without asking leading questions. They meet survivors in the emergency room and provide clothing and transportation if necessary. They offer therapy and guide survivors and witnesses through the legal system. Hucker saw a lot in her work as a prosecutor, and she still sees a side of Anderson that she was unaware of during her childhood.
“Now I not only understand more about my community’s need, I also know about the resources available,” says Hucker. “Roma and I are part of a great team at Foothills Alliance, and we want to share the need and the organization’s mission with others who want to make a difference in our community.”
Read more : Who Daily Loads Us With Benefits Meaning
Chelsey Moore Hucker ’09 and Roma make a great team, one that has made history and is now making a difference in their community.
Hucker was paired with Roma, a trained facility dog, six years ago when she was a prosecutor in the Anderson (S.C.) County Solicitor’s Office.
You are viewing: Who Is Duffie Stone Married To
“My boss, Anderson County Solicitor Chrissy Adams, wanted to give victims something,” says Hucker. “From the time they come into the system, everything is uncertain. Detectives, social workers, family outreach, legal advocates, counselors, judges, prosecutors — all of these people are new to them. It’s even harder for children. A seven year old doesn’t know these people or understand what it means to go to court. Roma gives victims one thing that’s consistent, one thing they can trust all the way through the process.”
Roma was the first solicitor’s office facility dog in South Carolina, and Hucker, Roma’s owner and primarily handler, piloted the program.
“Humans and animals have evolved together to respond to each other,” says Hucker. “We are alerted by a dog’s bark in the same way that we know not to be scared or worried when we see a calm dog.”
According to Hucker, Roma can do extended down stays. “She’s gone six hours laying under the witness stand without moving,” says Hucker. “She loves, loves, loves children, and doesn’t mind when children look in her ears or tug on her tail. She sits super still and is happy as long as someone is loving on her.”
In turn, people dealing with abuse or trauma or people reliving traumatic situations in court are comforted by Roma’s patient, calm demeanor.
Now the two have teamed up again, but in a different part of the legal system. In January, Hucker was named executive director of Foothills Alliance, a nonprofit organization that serves Anderson and Oconee counties with a sexual trauma center, child advocacy center and child abuse prevention center. Roma comes to work with Hucker every day as the organization’s facility dog. She is at meetings, therapy session, pleas and court dates.
“I thought I would be in the solicitor’s office forever,” says Hucker. “The solicitor’s office does hard, important work, and I was proud to be doing that work in my hometown. Now I’m affecting change in a different way and in a different part of the process that’s just as necessary, but basically invisible. I want to change that.”
The staff at Foothills Alliance bridges the gap between law enforcement and prosecutors. They are trained to do forensic interviews that minimize trauma without asking leading questions. They meet survivors in the emergency room and provide clothing and transportation if necessary. They offer therapy and guide survivors and witnesses through the legal system. Hucker saw a lot in her work as a prosecutor, and she still sees a side of Anderson that she was unaware of during her childhood.
“Now I not only understand more about my community’s need, I also know about the resources available,” says Hucker. “Roma and I are part of a great team at Foothills Alliance, and we want to share the need and the organization’s mission with others who want to make a difference in our community.”
Duffie Stone ’85
Nearly a decade ago, Duffie Stone ’85 toured the Salt Lake City Family Justice Center while in the area for the National District Attorneys Association board meeting. At the time, the concept of bringing victims services, law-enforcement and prosecutors together under a single roof to combat domestic violence was a new concept. During the tour he asked his host, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, if the center had helped improve the conviction rate for domestic violence offenses.
“My friend told me that I was asking the wrong question,” recalled Stone. “He wanted to change the narrative and to talk instead about how prosecutors can better help victims. He was right.”
Stone entered the center thinking that such a place would be a great service to his constituents in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. He exited with even greater determination to make it happen.
In October 2019, Stone, solicitor of the 14th Judicial Circuit, opened the Justice Institute in the heart of the five-county circuit that he serves. It’s the first center of its kind in the state, and it serves victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child and elder abuse.
“We can now walk victims from a meeting with us to someone who can help with counseling, childcare or an emergency shelter,” says Stone. “Until a year ago, there was no one in the 14th circuit certified to conduct an acute forensic exam on a child. Today we have a pediatric sexual assault nurse and a means of collecting evidence and taking statements so children only have to go through this once.”
According to Stone, the 14th Judicial Circuit brings in roughly 5,000 warrants a year and supports about 3,000 victims; more than 500 of those victims — 100 of whom are children — have used the Justice Institute’s services in the past year.
“Prosecution is only a part of what we do,” says Stone. “It’s also about constantly trying to improve: Doing things different than they’ve been done in the past; trying to make the criminal justice system better, more efficient, more effective, fairer.”
The Justice Institute is a step in that direction. Stone moved the solicitor’s office to a more central location, stopped paying rent and purchased a building big enough to bring partnering law enforcement, judicial, social service, education and prevention organizations together under one roof. Technology and security are top of the line, and spaces for families and children who have faced trauma are comfortable and welcoming.
Stone is not shy about crediting the critical-thinking skills he honed at Wofford for his success in the courtroom and in launching new ways of serving the community. This year, Stone is serving as the NDAA’s president, and his biography on the association’s website concludes with “Go Terriers.”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
