Lebanon
She prefers to be as aerodynamic as possible while running in its half marathon event, an endeavor she took on one year after forming the Champions Against Child Abuse team in 2012. Prior to that, she’d always run the event’s 5K.
Brittis, 47, is the program director for the CHaD-based Child Advocacy Center (CAC), which reviews cases of child abuse and neglect, linking victims with treatment services while working with law enforcement officials and prosecutors to hold offenders accountable.
With a budget relying roughly two-thirds on fundraising and philanthropy, CHaD Hero has become an important commodity for CAC, which reviewed 266 cases in Grafton and Sullivan Counties last year and another 164 through June of this year.
Brittis used to run the 5K and raise funding individually. Since Champions Against Child Abuse was formed four years ago, the team has garnered between 50-75 members each year and raised more than $33,800 total to directly benefit CAC’s programs and services.
Though she had no running experience prior to the first CHaD event in 2006, Brittis has run in nine of its first 10 editions and is in her fifth year running the half marathon.
“I wanted to make a statement,” Brittis said in a recent interview at CAC’s downtown Lebanon office. “After running the 5K for awhile, I realized I wanted to make the jump to show how important CAC is for the children that we see.”
The Children’s Advocacy Center also has offices in Claremont and Littleton, N.H. Their aim is to provide a safe and comfortable environment for those who may have been abused and to share their story with a single interviewer sensitive to the needs of children.
The rest of CAC’s team observes from a different room, and the conversation is recorded to assist law enforcement and state child protection workers in pursuing the case.
Meanwhile, families are connected with local therapists to help begin the healing process.
“It’s important that we provide a neutral environment where the child feels safe and comfortable telling their story,” Brittis said. “It’s also important that they only be asked to tell their story once, and not keep passing them on to different agencies and officials where they have to tell it over and over. A lot of times, the children and their families are still in crisis. It can jeopardize their recovery when the process is (too burdensome).”
Brittis and her CAC partners can speak of startling statistics: that 4-5 children die each day in the U.S., as a result of child abuse and neglect; that 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused prior to their 18th birthday; that 94 percent of those abused know and trust their perpetrators.
They can also attest to the Upper Valley and surrounding areas not being immune to these problems — the CAC’s Grafton and Sullivan Counties offices reviewed an average of 270 cases from 2011-15.
“It’s something that definitely happens in our backyard,” said Brittis, an Enfield resident who’s been CAC’s program director for 21 years. “These cases hit home for many of us.”
Since Brittis arrived in the mid-1990s, the advancement of Internet chat rooms and social media has further tested CAC’s efforts. Lebanon Police Department Corporal Andrea Kegelman — a forensic specialist who works with Brittis at CAC and doubles as a member of the Champions Against Child Abuse CHaD Hero team — constantly grapples with challenges presented by offenders who facilitate online relationships with victims.
“A lot of (the offenders) are savvy and have ways of hiding their IP addresses,” Kegelman said. “As more offenders use social media, it certainly makes our jobs more difficult.”
“It’s a scary world,” Brittis added bluntly. “Children are very influenced by social media and offenders have a grooming process, grooming them to become friends and trust them. They have a very skilled way of getting into the victims’ lives.”
Inspired by New Hampshire Department of Children, Youth and Families’ Know and Tell program, Brittis and CAC staff educate teachers and others who spend significant time with children. As part of her vocation, Brittis routinely helps conduct presentations to help identify the warning signs of abuse.
“There’s a big initiative right now to protect children who enter the school system,” Brittis said. “Two weeks ago in Plymouth, we had a presentation that drew 150 people. It’s all about trying to catch these cases early and open the door for communication as soon as possible.”
The severity of the nature of CAC’s work doesn’t dampen the festiveness of the Champions Against Child Abuse team on race day. Many of the members’ own children participate, including Brittis’ kids, Grace and Olivia Bean, and Kegelman’s daughter, Ronni.
“It’s really a great event and a great time,” Corporal Kegelman said.
“I can’t say enough about the enthusiasm and energy the team has when we all get together.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.