The City of Florence was one of four cities that recently took home the 2009 Kentucky League of Cities Enterprise Cities Award for creative and joint funding of the new Northern Kentucky Children’s Advocacy Center. Florence took top honors in the 15,001 to 40,000 population category. The cities of Pikeville, Scottsville and Bowling Green also won awards.
The new non-profit center provides service to children who have been abused or witnessed violent crimes, and to their non-offending parents and other caregivers. It was the state's first center to become a full member of, and to be accredited by, the National Children's Alliance. The center opened in April in its new location.
Florence Mayor Diane Whalen said the important work of the center, pulled all entities together to find a way to fund the new space.
"If you look at the mission of Children's advocacy center it makes sense to be able to provide kids and families a place they can come to that is not cramped or crowded to go to. (The Center) approached us (about the expansion plans), and asked us what we thought about it," Whalen said. "We thought it was a great idea."
A combination of private fundraising and an award of Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG funds led to the new center being built on the campus of St. Luke Hospital in Florence.
The $2.5 million project received $1 million in CDBG funds awarded to the cities of Ft. Thomas and Florence. That was matched by $1.5 million raised by the Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky for the project. St. Luke donated the land for the 5,700 sq. ft. site, which is much larger than the Advocacy Center's previous location in three rooms of a physician's office in Bellevue.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Florence Mayor Diane Whalen and Kentucky League of Cities
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