Font ResizeLAS CRUCES - The Child Crisis Center of Southern New Mexico welcomed its first nursery clients Wednesday - three boys whose mother had no one to board them with while she went into the hospital for surgery.
Donna Richmond, 47, executive director of La Pi-on Sexual Assault Recovery Services of Southern New Mexico, which operates the center, has battled rape and child abuse in recent years, rallying volunteers and donations and opening 24-hour hot lines for victims of both. In 2011, she hopes to expand awareness and prevention to fight bullying and suicide.
"We have the vehicle for children to call and reach out, we just need to provide them with the tools to overcome the bullying situation," Richmond said. "We say, 'tell a teacher, tell a parent,' but we need to educate the teacher and parent to help this child who's being bullied."
Bullying is no new problem, but the methods of escalation - especially online or via cell phones - and high-profile national suicides of bullied juveniles have made the problem more visible. Of course, as with child abuse and rape, there's no way to tell how many bullies will be thwarted or suicides prevented by the work of La Pi-on and its community partners. What the four have in common is a mission to protect the vulnerable.
Richmond, a mother of two who adopted two boys several years ago, says her passion stems from the death of her father, Mesilla Marshal's Sgt. Thomas Richmond, who was shot and killed in 1988 by a man fleeing the
"That's how I got involved in victim's advocacy, because I was a victim of that crime, as a surviving family member," she said. "I understand how one person can change the course of your life."
And, unlike victims aid in other fields like the Red Cross, which responds to natural disasters like fires or floods, sex crimes and child abuse involve a choice to hurt someone less powerful.
"We need to help the vulnerable person who's been abused," Richmond said. "And we need to make sure the person who's the perpetrator is held accountable."
To do that, Richmond hopes to ensure continued state funding for La Pi-on and find recurring funding for the child crisis center, which will require $500,000 a year to operate, and to put together an outreach program for the center and La Pi-on's target populations.
"The amount of (these crimes) that occurs is high, per capita, for our area," Richmond said. "In 2010, we had two children that died, allegedly, at the hands of their caregivers. Two children who died. And there's just no excuse for that."
Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462.
Donna Richmond
•Job: Executive director of La Pi-on Sexual Assault Recovery Services of Southern New Mexico (lapinon.org) and the Child Crisis Center of Southern New Mexico (childcrisiscenterofsnm.org)
•Impact in 2011: Raise money and awareness to help prevent sexual assault, child abuse, bullying and suicide
