More than 25 years ago, Grethe Petersen was serving as a juror in a child abuse case in Utah. She watched as two young boys had to again recount the story of their abuse in a courtroom, in front of dozens of strangers. The jury wasn’t able to find the alleged abuser guilty and those two boys left the courtroom further traumatized than when they entered.
According to the CJC, 1 in 6 Utah boys and 1 in 4 Utah girls will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18—higher than the national average. Only 2% of victims are abused by a stranger–98% are abused by someone they know and should have been able to trust. That is an outrageous number of children every year who have to work through the justice system, often before they even know what a justice system is.
Grethe felt if we can’t help our children in the most traumatic situations, we have failed. She knew there had to be a better way and so she got to work.
She found an organization in Alabama that used a home environment in which to conduct interviews with children who were victims of crime or abuse. She began lobbying the state legislature to do something similar and in 1991, the Children Justice Center opened three centers in Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden.
Today, there are 23 centers across the state—at least one in every county. The centers allow trained staff to interview children in a comfortable environment. Those interviews are video recorded and then used in court proceedings so the kids don’t have to recount their trauma again and again.
Here in Summit County, a team of Summit County and Park City Police detectives, caseworkers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and trauma-trained therapists and medical staff all help victims share their story and then move on with the healing process while criminal proceedings carry on.
The Summit County CJC is currently located in the Sheldon Richins Building in Kimball Junction–but the location is not ideal. The whole goal of the center is to help kids in a comfortable, homey environment, not an office building. And since it opened its doors in 2012, the center has seen more than 1500 children and the numbers continue to grow annually—meaning it needs more space.
The Summit County and Park City governments, the Utah Legislature, federal grants and private donations all help fund the CJC. Thanks to many donations, the nonprofit that supports the CJC, Community for Children’s Justice, has secured a new location to carry out the mission of the center. The new home for the CJC is the “zebra house” – on Silver Summit Parkway, adjacent to the southbound U.S. 40 on-ramp.
But as you well know, real estate in the Summit County area is not cheap. The property is also going to need some extensive renovations to make it fit the CJC’s needs. Community for Children’s Justice has seen great support from the local government but it just isn’t enough to provide this vital service to the community. So it is in the middle of a campaign to raise $2 million to secure the new property and keep it running.
This weekend, the center is hosting an open house so the community can see what the beginnings of the new center will look like.
It is Saturday, October 27th from 4 p.m.to 6 p.m.
Please click HERE to register for the event.
The CJC is a testament to the power of a woman with a vision. Grethe Petersen saw a need in her community and she did what it took to fix it. She said, “One person can make a difference. If you care enough and have the energy to do it, you do it!”
At this moment in our lives, it’s not possible to lobby the legislature to fix the problems we see in our communities. But what we CAN do is help those fighting the good fight. They can’t do it without our support.
Parents’ Survival Night
The Art and Science of Arachnids
Never in history have we (ok, some of us) been more inundated with images – at least from a social media perspective. Landscapes, pictures of home design and architecture, candids (does such a thing even exist anymore?) but especially the new self-portrait – those supernumerary selfies – are shared and consumed relentlessly across social channels.
Hop on the Heber Creeper for the annual 
There’s so much to do at Cornbelly’s, it nearly needs its own blog post. From the corn maze to the fall adventures, to a number of “Haunts” – you can count on an entire day, and then some, of action here.
There are 
There are *dozens* of 
Wear your costume (you could win an iPad mini!) for this pre-Halloween celebration. With the price of admission, you’ll be able to participate in the costume contest (there are actually two of them – on at 5 p.m. and the other at 8). Other festivities that night include:
Ok, we had no idea this was a thing but we definitely want IN on it. Join in the somewhat aggressive destruction of unsold pumpkins – or bring your own stash – and smack the living daylights out of them with a startlingly large-looking wooden mallet.
BooLights! @ Hogle Zoo 
Hop on Ray’s Lift for a 
Homestead Resort Family Fall Festival
This classic falls scene is one that’s perfect for the littlest ones. There’s a pumpkin patch, hay maze, cow train, and wagon rides. 
Get all dressed up in your Halloween best and head to the annual 
ARTober Fest
Billed as two days of education, support, and community, the Park City Women’s Expo will feature booths, presentations, and “how-to” tutorials. Panel discussions; financial advice; intuitive practices for everyday life; self-defense; fitness, health, and nutrition; the importance of sleep (and how to get more!); business and career help; cooking; hair and makeup; beauty demos; fashion shows; car maintenance instruction — and more!
The rivalry rages on. The competition to beat Breckenridge, Colorado heats up again today — all for the glory of holding the record for the world’s longest shot ski. 
Paint & Sip
Park City Institute Presents:
This week’s Park City Event Guide is sponsored by 
The annual Park City Dine About is in full swing! 24 Park City restaurants are participating – which means, throughout the course of the two-week event, you get to take advantages of seasonal (hugely discounted) two-course lunches and three-course dinners at these spots. With the discount, lunches will end up at about $10 or $15 per person. The three-course dinners will only set you back between $20 and $40 per person!
This one has gotten a lot of buzz – and the San Francisco Chronicle calls it “A beautiful and uncompromising piece of art…”
Join in the fall fun at the 9th Annual Harvest Festival at the High Star Ranch in Kamas! 
The wives of the Park City Police Department are handing out blue ribbons and blue lines for cars to help the community show appreciation to our local law enforcement officers. You’ll also have the chance to personally thank a police officer. 
Park City MARC
