About Us
Berkshire County Kids’ Place & Violence Prevention Center, Inc. is a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) and fully accredited through the National Children’s Alliance.
Our Story
Kids’ Place was formed by the community, for the community.
Founded in 1993, Berkshire County Kids’ Place was formed as a grassroots nonprofit and became the first CAC in Massachusetts. Kids’ Place supports the Berkshire County community by providing a safe homelike atmosphere for child abuse victims and non-offending family members.
Our House
The Berkshire County Kids’ Place is recognizable by the home it’s built in–a beautifully remodeled Victorian house. Established to provide a safe, welcoming environment, the building is intentionally designed to soothe and heal with comfortable furnishings and inviting decor. Kids’ Place is set apart from the downtown, but still close for services in central Berkshires.
Avoiding all the stereotypes of hospitals, clinics, or police stations, Kids’ Place promotes comfort in the process of healing. From inviting decor to friendly staff, Kids’ Place offers children of abuse a safe place to receive care and begin their healing journey.
Our Mission
Berkshire County Kids’ Place and Violence Prevention Center, Inc. provides an interdisciplinary, cooperative team approach to address the needs of children subjected to violence as victims or as witnesses and to their non-offending family members. The center provides a safe, caring, home-like atmosphere that coordinates the combined knowledge of law enforcement, social service, medical, prosecutorial, and mental health agencies to ensure an effective response to childhood trauma.
Children who are victims of abuse must depend on the adults in their lives to pay attention to the warning signs, believe them when they tell us something is wrong, and respond responsibly.
Kids’ Place is here to help you recognize those signs and help your child make a comeback from the trauma they have experienced or witnessed. We are also here to help the non-offending parent or family members handle the trauma. By helping you, you can help your child.
Our Vision
At Berkshire County Kids’ Place, we aim to:
- Provide a safe place to children who have experienced violence to heal
- Seek justice for children who have been hurt
- Offer hope to children who have known fear
- Increase awareness so that our community knows the signs of neglect and abuse
- Advocate for change from down the block to Beacon Hill
- Create an inclusive and equitable environment for the diverse families we serve
- Keep these services FREE regardless of access to health insurance or a family’s ability to pay
We firmly believe that we have the ability to give children a safer future. Help us accomplish our mission by donating today:
What Are CACs?
CAC stands for Children’s Advocacy Center. CAC’s provide a safe atmosphere for child abuse victims and support children throughout the healing process. Berkshire County Kids’ Place became the first CAC in Massachusetts in 1993.
Staff
Heather Williamson
Program Director
April Slater Roche, LICSW
Director of Clinical Services
Lyndsey Turner, LICSW
Child Clinician
Rebecca Smith, Ph.D., M.Ed., M.A.
Child Clinician
Megan Porter, LICSW
Child Clinician
Paula Baniotaite-Perry
Child Clinician
Hailey Graham
CSEC + Family Advocate
Brian Berkel
CSEC Coordinator
Maribeth Cellana
Administrative Coordinator
Laurin Guilds
Receptionist
Colleen Nixon
Elizabeth Freeman Center, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Counselor/Advocate
Talia Magnani, RFK
Lead CSEC Survivor Mentor
Emily Zoltan
Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office, MDT Coordinator
Board of Directors
Lori Goodell | Chair
Robert Maxwell | Vice-Chair
Benjamin Correia | Treasurer
Christopher Smith | President
Sandra Wadsworth | Clerk
Michael DiCicco
Linda Gaspardi Febles
Shawn Gariepy
Barbara Guido
Paul Fortini
Marjorie Lauren
Robert Maxwell
Steven Murdock
Rosemarie Phelps
Mark Placido
Sandra Wadsworth
Vanessa Justice
Contact Us
If the situation is an emergency, call 911 immediately.
Berkshire County Kids’ Place is open Monday through Friday, 9am–5pm. Contact our team at 413-236-1800, email us at info@kidsplaceonline.org, or fill out the contact form below.
For support on nights, weekends, or holidays, call the Child At Risk Hotline at 1-800-792-5200.