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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!” – Established 1985 – Locally Owned & Independent
’ ! l a c o L t a t s e B ‘The
Volume XXXVI, Number 43
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
www.bitterrootstar.com
Emma’s House creates safe space for children by Victoria Howell
benefactor Jim Olson bought the house and Emma’s House rented from him. Forensic interviews could be done there. It opened in September 2006. “Since then, we’ve really grown,” says Widmer. “We hired trained professionals, then added a medical clinic for forensic exams. A few years later, we added a mental health component for kids that have reported child abuse. This is very specialized training from a provider that has experience. We started looking at what’s needed in our community and what can we as Emma’s House do.” The program continued to grow, adding more staff. They looked at future sustainability started talking about buying a building. In 2016, they purchased building known as The Carriage House at 310 N. 4th in Hamilton and are now operating out of that. The board has now turned its attention to growing Emma’s House’s mental health program. “We now offer specialized trauma treatment right here,” says Widmer. “Kids don’t have to go all over town or to Missoula to get that specialized care.” Widmer is proud of the ways they have been innovative, and attributes that to their ability to fundraise as a private non-profit, and because we are a non profit and also “the really supportive community so we can think outside the box a little bit.” Canine Companions for Independence donated the dog Twyla, Labrador. She sits on the kids’ laps when they are interviewed. It’s the kids’ choice whether to have her there, but most of the kids are excited to have her there. The kids learn the commands and she sits with them on the sofa while they’re being interviewed. “We’ve really noticed a huge difference in kids feeling more relaxed and comfortable,” says Widmer, who is Twyla’s “person.” She provides “a little bit of levity too,” says Widmer, “when she starts snoring” during one of these difficult interviews. If kids return to work with the counselor, they have the option of having Twyla there as well. She is recognized by
Val Widmer, Executive Director of Emma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center in Hamilton and a licensed clinical social worker, has been on the job for 15 years. Emma’s House opened as a facility in 2006. “We’ve been around now for quite a while,” said Widmer. “I was working for the Sheriff’s Office at the time as a victim’s advocate, “ said Widmer. “I was in graduate school and I noticed that a lot of the investigations that involved child victims, particularly of sexual abuse, we just really did not have the right training and resources in our community to help those kids and families.” “In school I had access to my peers and professors and research, so I started looking around to see how other communities were responding to this. Specifically, how we could make things better in the way that these cases are investigated. At the time, kids were having to disclose nine different times to nine different people in the system about the traumatic event that happened to them. There had to be a better way.” A small group was formed by people who worked in the criminal justice system, Sheriff’s Office, County Attorney’s Office, SAFE, Child and Family Services, and the hospital. Several of people who were involved since the very beginning are still involved – e.g. County Attorney Bill Fulbright, Pete Clarkson from the Sheriff’s Office who now works at Emma’s House as an advocate, and Julie Telfer, a counselor who is still involved. “We decided we can do better in Ravalli County,” recalls Widmer “We applied for a National Children’s Alliance grant – we were awarded $50,000 to get started in creating a Children’s Advocacy Center, which streamlines the process so the kids are interviewed only one time. These child-friendly techniques enable the professionals to get the specific information needed by using methods that cause less trauma to the child. The group started looking around to find a place to locate the center. They found a little cottage on N. 2nd and local Val Widmer, Executive Director of Emma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center in Hamilton, with Emma’s House service dog Twyla, who has been with the program for five years. Photo courtesy of Emma’s House.
See EMMA’S HOUSE, page 13
Hamilton, Stevi mayors file for reelection by Michael Howell Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf did not hesitate one second to file as a candidate in the upcoming elections. He hopes desperately to maintain the position. He believes that he has done a good job and would like nothing more than to have the chance to continue serving the public in the same caring fashion that he serves the residents at Sapphire Lutheran Homes, where he works full time as Activities Director. Farrenkopf said that in his first term as mayor a lot has been accomplished. Some of the
had been initiated under the direction of the previous mayor, Jerry Steele. One was the new Justice Center project involving the renovation of the old Armory building on Main and 10th. It now houses the police department, the city court and the city attorney’s office. Farrenkopf took over the project just at the point that the contractors were being hired and then shepherded the project through the building phase. A second project inherited from Steele and then carried projects were inherited, he said. They were projects that
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See FARRENKOPF, page 12
by Victoria Howell Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey has filed for re-election. He filed on the first day. Dewey acknowledges he’s been through a lot during the past three years, including a failed – but close – attempt to recall him, a complete turnover of council members, and a turnover of staff members. And a pandemic. “Perhaps our biggest work is behind us,” says Dewey. “We are building consistency in our government. We’ve eliminated the
controversy, contention and infighting that plagued us
up until last November. Now we’ve been able to focus on projects. And the council has improved its communication with the administration.” Some of the brick-andmortar projects that are slated for this year include improvements on 3rd Street and 5th Streets to address pedestrian safety and parking issues. The council has also approved some renovations at Father Ravalli Park as well as the well-publicized splash pad project at Lewis & Clark Park. “We’ve also upgraded a lot of our equipment,” said Dewey. “We intentionally prioritized capital See DEWEY, page 12
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