NORTHAMPTON — One day, Kara McElhone hopes her services will no longer be needed. But until then, she plans to keep up on her mission of protecting children as executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County.

“How we treat our children is a reflection of who we are,” McElhone said. “It is essential to acknowledge that we still have so much more work to do.”

The Children’s Advocacy Center celebrated its 25th anniversary on Friday morning at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, with more than 100 attendants served a breakfast of scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon and sausage. The center was founded as a partnership between the Northwestern district attorney’s office, local law enforcement agencies and the state Department of Children and Families to provide support and assistance to child survivors of sexual abuse.

It has since expanded to include medical services and on-site mental health care. According to McElhone, the advocacy center has worked with 191 children since the start of the year.

One such survivor the center has worked with is Jenny Saravia, who served as a keynote speaker for Friday’s event. As a preteen, Saravia was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by Jorge Castillo, a boyfriend of her aunt, in Amherst from 2013 to 2015. Saravia described how the abuse affected her mental state, causing her to become even more withdrawn and to fall into a deep depression.

“I felt powerless,” Saravia recalled. “He had me so traumatized and scared, to the point where I didn’t feel I could trust an adult anymore.”

But after she confided in her sister about the abuse, the Children’s Advocacy Center became involved. Castillo was arraigned in 2021 for the assaults and was sentenced this year to five to six years in state prison, with five years’ probation to follow.

“I was robbed of my childhood, but I don’t want to be robbed of my adulthood,” Saravia said. “Just being able to talk about this trauma through this whole experience is going to make it so much easier.”

Friday’s event also recognized two individuals who helped support the Children’s Advocacy Center and champion the cause of children’s rights: Lynne Scott, an educator and children’s book author in Worthington, and Kellie Beaulieu, the child abuse unit coordinator at the Northwestern district attorney’s office.

Scott is the author of the children’s book “Worth the Wait,” about the migratory sandhill crane birds that reside in Worthington. The daughter of a pediatric surgeon, she has donated all proceeds of the book toward helping the advocacy center protect and support children.

“From a really early age, children, medicine and healing have been a part of my life,” she said. “Raising awareness is a truly gratifying thing.”

Beaulieu was the inaugural recipient of the Linda L. Pisano award of excellence, given to a person who has dedicated their life to “ensure all children get the safety, healing and justice they need,” according to the center. The award is named after Pisano, a longtime assistant district attorney who serves on the center’s board of directors.for the CAC.

“Inspiration can be found all around us and we open our eyes and our hearts to it,” Beaulieu said. “Sometimes, inspiration comes from a candy jar, filled by coworkers who understand we’re out there fighting the good fight every day, but sometimes, we need chocolate.”

Other notable attendees included Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, state Sen. Jo Comerford, Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, who served as one of the speakers.

“It is important to know that Hampshire County loves its children,” Sullivan said. “We should be very proud of the work everyone in this room has done.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.