SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — A lot has changed for Beth Heilman since TMJ4 last spoke with her a few months ago
She was working with Child Protective Services but now has a new title: Manager for the Sheboygan location at the Lakeshore Regional Child Advocacy Center, or the CAC.
Watch: Child Advocacy Center opening possible because of community donations:
"It's a dream come true for me,” she said. “It really is."
The center supports kids who are affected by violence, neglect and abuse, by connecting law enforcement agencies, child specialists and mental health professionals.
The significance of Heilman’s new role runs deep for her. A few years ago, she found out someone had hurt her child.
The family immediately sought help from the CAC.
"When that happened, we decided we weren't going to be victims, we were going to do something with it."
Beth has come full circle. She’s now an advocate for the location in Sheboygan.
"It was clear early on that the need was here in our community."
40 percent of the victims the team has served are from Sheboygan. 1 in 5 children have a City of Sheboygan address.
TMJ4 visited the new site in late December when leaders were asking for the community’s help raising $500,000.
The money was needed to finish construction and pay for three years of operations.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Leaders ask for community’s help for new Sheboygan Child Advocacy Center
After that story aired, Executive Director Amanda Didier said a local donor approached her and gave the organization $100,000. He handed over an additional $50,000 not long after.
“The donor and his staff saw the story and that we did together and was so moved by it,” Dider explained.
Construction was still in progress at the time, but the demand for services couldn’t wait.
"We started interviewing children here before we had all of our doorknobs."
“It was essential,” Heilman added. “We can’t tell them, ‘Hold on. We’re not quite ready.”
A total of $200,000 is still needed to reach the fundraising goal they’ve been working toward since 2023 — a total of $2.5 million.
The Sheboygan site had its ribbon cutting on Thursday afternoon. In attendance were figures such as Ryan Sorenson, Gov. Tony Evers and other local leaders.
A community grand opening is scheduled for late April.
Didier said all 16 other CAC locations across the state were labors of love, but “This one is so special because it was the community that decided, ‘We need this. We need this now and it can’t wait.’”
“To me, it speaks to the heart of Sheboygan County and what can be accomplished when we collaborate for good."
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