Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant Children's Center
In the event that child abuse is discovered, referral can be made to the Durant Children’s Center. The Children’s Center is a comprehensive program for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of child and adolescent physical and sexual abuse. This program is administered in a centralized facility where all agency representatives who interact with the victims do so in a child-oriented environment, thereby reducing the number of different individuals and settings the child must encounter.

On-site services are provided by Department of Social Services, Law Enforcement, Solicitor’s Office, Medical and Mental Health Professionals, and Victim Advocates. The center provides the following services:

     • 24-hour crisis intervention
     • Medical examinations, diagnosis, and treatment
     • Forensic interview
     • Individual and group counseling
     • Legal assistance
     • Community education and training.

     Our motto, “The House Where Healing Begins,” guides our approach to each child. A child who needs our services also needs a sense of balance restored to his or her life as quickly as possible. The child-centered approach employed by the expert staff and volunteers at the Center attempts to restore that balance by respecting children’s rights, bolstering their dignity, and ensuring their safety.

     We know that some of the experiences a child may have at the Center will be uncomfortable and unpleasant but are crucial to their ultimate protection, care, and recovery. For those reasons, every effort is made to reduce the trauma of examinations and interviews as well as to explain to the child whenever possible what to expect.

     Again, we wish that no child ever needed our services, but when and if they do, children can trust us.


   
 


About the Durant Children's Center

      The Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant Children’s Center was established through a generous grant by Mr. Joe B. Durant of Florence in memory of his wife. Mrs. Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant had a great affinity for children and they for her. She loved being in the presence of children and cared deeply about their well-being. With great pride, Joe Durant and the Pee Dee Coalition dedicated this home to his wife. The Elizabeth Pettigrew Durant Children Center will continuously be associated with helping and healing the children of the Pee Dee.

  
 

 

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