April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time when child wellness and child welfare organizations across the U.S. elevate the importance of creating systems and programs that put children and families first. Children's Advocacy Center - Hope House, one of Atmos Energy’s newest nonprofit partners, is at the forefront of the fight against child abuse in the Louisiana Parishes of St. Tammany and Washington. The numbers are staggering with over 3 million children nationwide being reported as receiving some level of child abuse investigation. Those identified as victims statistically fall within 76 percent as neglected, 16 percent physically abused, and 8 percent sexually abused or trafficked. CAC - Hope House works to provide hope, healing and justice for those abuse victims within its community. 

CAC - Hope House was initially founded in 1994 and achieved tax-exempt status that same year. The staff’s diligent work over the first two decades earned CAC - Hope House full membership in the National Children's Alliance in 2014. In 2017, Thomas Mitchell was named Executive Director overseeing a committed team of compassionate professionals. Today, the team continues their dedicated work providing quality forensic interviews and victim advocacy accompanied by an outstanding counseling program. 

Their mission statement is clear and concise: “CAC - Hope House is dedicated to ending the cycle of child abuse in our community. We provide a path to recovery and a bridge to justice for victims of abuse.” They strive to accomplish this daily with a team focused on forensic interviewing, family advocacy, counseling services and prevention outreach. The team works to strengthen families and help children thrive through proper education and support for parenting and nurturing social and emotional competence in abused children. Delivering the right resources for justice and healing to families and children in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, this approach has reduced traumatization while holding offenders accountable. CAC - Hope House also provides comfort and encouragement to children through initiatives such as: 

• Buttons for Bravery: These buttons show kids they aren't alone. Children new to CAC - Hope House identify a button they connect with from a pre-existing drawer. Then, they drop it into a jar of more than 400 buttons other abused children have identified with.  

• Brooke It Forward: As a partner to this foundation, named after Brooke E. Posey, CAC - Hope House provides shoebox-sized “birthday boxes” to its approximately 400 children a year. This leads to a celebration of joy in the midst of trauma, foster care, or other circumstances. Each box includes cake mix, frosting, candy, goodies and a birthday card.  

• Bear It Together: Brand new teddy bears are gifted to the CAC – Hope House children.  For victims of abuse, who have been hurt by a trusted source or feel a sense of undeserved shame, these teddy bears affirm the children of their goodness.  

As part of its commitment to Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities, Atmos Energy supports CAC - Hope House in part because of their long-standing reputation for keeping children safe. Supporting children in every way possible to ensure a positive trajectory for their lives is a vital mission for Atmos Energy, and CAC - Hope House plays an important role in accomplishing that goal. Making a difference in children's lives is why we donated $3,000 to CAC - Hope House in November 2022 to enhance delivery of their services to local children.  

“In addition to financial support from the company, Atmos Energy employees are conducting a three-month teddy bear drive to make sure every child that visits Hope House for services receives their very own comforting teddy bear to keep,” said Manager of Public Affairs Dr. Kaia Simmons. 

Through this initiative, Atmos Energy employees have collected an impressive 160 teddy bears, with roughly one week to go.  

There are several approaches to take if you would like to help CAC – Hope House. Visit https://www.cachopehouse.org/get-involved/ to either donate, volunteer or be part of the “Bear it Together” teddy bear campaign.