Thousands of Volunteers Gather for Celebrate Kids Conference in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Advocates for child safety gathered in downtown Columbus this week to discuss training and support for children experiencing abuse or neglect. Hundreds of volunteers attended workshops at the Hyatt Regency hotel as part of the annual Celebrate Kids Conference, hosted by the Ohio CASA Association.

CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, provides support for families navigating the court system due to abuse or neglect. Elizabeth Smart, who gained national attention after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home at age 14 in 2002, served as the keynote speaker.

“So often it sounds like so extreme and so different and so unique,” Smart said. “But really what I experienced is not so different from what other victims experience every single day.” She reflected on how her experience shaped her life. “Had I not been kidnapped, although I want to say I’d be standing where I am today, I also don’t know if I would,” she added. “It has certainly altered a lot in my life.”

Ohio CASA serves nearly 10,000 children annually, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of trained volunteers. Executive Director Doug Stephens said the organization continually updates its training to address the evolving needs of children and families.

“These volunteers are trained and retrained,” Stephens explained. “What they want to try to determine is what’s the best situation for the children — should they stay with the family, be removed, or stay with somebody temporarily and eventually move back.” He noted that child abuse cases are becoming increasingly complex.

“Children services are doing a much more thorough job giving resources up front,” Stephens said. “But the other reason they are getting harder is the fentanyl, the drugs and everything that is being introduced into more and more families at a younger and younger age.”

Volunteer Marquice Stewart emphasized that the signs of abuse can be subtle. “It’s sometimes very silent where people are afraid to speak up,” Stewart said. “Kids are being bullied. You get kids coming to school with dirty clothes on and not having the proper essentials, and what you may not realize is these kids have a bigger story than what we see.”

Smart continues to spread a message of hope, empathy, and understanding for survivors. “Bad things happen to us all,” she said. “Every one of us has a story, and I just want survivors to know that this does not have to define them for the rest of their life. Whoever hurt them or abused them — it didn’t take away any of their value.”