My name is Kerry McCracken. I am the Executive Director of The Children’s Assessment Center, Harris County’s Advocacy Center for sexually abused children. I am so grateful that April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to bring even more emphasis to this sad but important issue. Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, period. 175 children are abused in Texas every day. 700,000 children are abused in the United States every year. These numbers are shocking and unacceptable. Child abuse comes in many forms. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, and malnutrition are all abuse. No form of abuse is acceptable and all forms of abuse are preventable. That’s where you come in. It is every adult in our community’s job to protect children and prevent abuse. So how do we do that? Report any suspicion of child abuse. It’s the right thing to do. Many people are afraid of reporting suspicions of abuse but when weighing the pros and cons it is an easy choice: (1) Report child abuse so that a trained professional can investigate the allegation and either determine that no abuse occurred or determine that abuse has occurred and remove the […]

March is Financial Crimes Awareness month and we are thrilled to partner with the Houston Police Department (HPD) to bring valuable awareness and education about this subject. In this post HPD discusses what constitutes a financial crime, signs of financial exploitation, and best practices to protect yourself and your loved ones from financial victimization. What is Financial Crimes? Financial Crimes deal with anything concerning financial crimes; such as Identity Theft, Credit Card Abuse, Theft and Forgery of Governmental Documents. Must of Financial Crimes deal with Identity Theft. Identity Theft is a common term used by all types of crimes in which some wrongfully obtains and uses another’s personal data in some manner that involves fraud or deception, usually for economic gain. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. How is Identity Theft Committed? It can be committed by Shoulder Surfing, Business Record Theft, Scamming, Phone Fraud, Skimming, Dumpster Diving, Mail Theft, Steal Wallet or Purse, The information Highway and Spoofing and Phishing. What are some of the warning signs of Identity Theft? Your monthly credit card and bank statements suddenly stop arriving. You are denied credit for reasons that do not match your understanding of your […]

Did you know that animal abuse, cruelty, neglect, and abandonment are crimes that are punishable by law? In 2020, the Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce, an organization that Houston PetSet and Crime Stoppers of Houston helped establish, received 4,881 reports of such offenses. This statistic is significant not just because it is disturbing that animals are being harmed at an alarming rate, but also because there is a proven correlation between crimes against animals and crimes against humans. According to the National Link Coalition, “animal abuse is ‘the tip of the iceberg’: the way animals are regarded in a family is a window into interpersonal relationships and family dynamics. Investigators who find animal cruelty, abuse, or neglect are rarely surprised to see other issues lurking beneath the surface.” Unfortunately, animals do not have a voice to use to speak for themselves, so they are an easy target for offenders to begin their abuse with; the offender learns to assert their dominance and, if they are not stopped, can progress to hurting children and other adults. In fact, a 1997 study by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Northeastern University found that animal abusers are five […]

Born and raised in Southeast Houston, abandoned at birth, raised, loved and enabled by many, my name is Tracy Dudley, and I am the Founding Survivor of Project Girls, a crisis intervention program that targets exploitation primarily in Southeast Houston. I spent many years on the southeast side of Houston as an angry, violent, drug addicted prostitute. I never had a pimp, nor was I forced into the life by another human being. Instead, my pimp was camouflaged in a dope mans body. My pimp hid in the trauma I experienced growing up, the self hatred that I learned to nurture and survive with. My pimp was the anxiety and frustration I felt year after year in not feeling important or that I mattered. From this place of pain an alter ego was born. Countless women, like myself make vows and promises from this place as desperate attempts are made for power and control and the confidence that escapes so many. Today as an overcomer with more than 17 years’ experience, I am honored to stand with the countless survivors, agencies, initiatives, concerned families, government officials and NGO’s who have taken a stand in the fight to end the demand and […]