Collier County, Fla. -- The Children’s Advocacy Center in Collier County helps people cope with loss and traumatic experiences.
“When you have kids of your own and you think about these types of things happening to your own children it’s devastating,” said Jackie Stephens, Executive Director Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County.
“There are difference stages of grief that they might follow through, ” said Leslie Swanson, Team Psychologist for Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County.
The stages of the grieving process are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
“Some people often times they get stuck, in a certain stage, in one particular stage,” said Swanson.
More than 460,000 kids were reported missing across the country in 2017. Those statistics are from the National Center for Missing of Exploited Children.
There are two ongoing missing kid cases that hit close to home.
Diana Alvarez was 9 and was last seen in her bed at her home in San Carlos Park on May 29th 2016.
Thursday marked the 10 year anniversary of Adji Desir’s disappearance. He was last seen playing outside his grandmothers house in Immokalee on January 10, 2009.
Seeking support and counseling are two ways to help cope.
“Those are things that are really going to make a difference for that family, and that parent to help them stay together and heal as best they can,” said Stephens.
If your child were to go missing the most important step is to contact your local law enforcement right away.
Organization’s like Children’s Advocacy of Southwest Florida might start feeling the impacts of the government shutdown since it’s funded by the federal government. if money runs out families that depend on victim services wouldn’t be able to use them.
