The statistics would startle the most jaded among us.

Nearly every day, a Westmoreland County child is interviewed by a child psychologist because there are suspicions of sexual abuse, rape or pornography in his or her life. In Allegheny County, the numbers are 2.5 times as high, with more than 800 cases expected this year.

	V.W.H. Campbell, Post-Gazette Diane Morelli collects and fills kids' backpacks with toiletries and toys for distribution to children who are victims of abuse. She is sitting amid some of the backpacks that she has ready for delivery. Click photo for larger image.

But one organization is attempting to make it a little easier for these abused youngsters to face what's ahead in the legal system. They'll step forward as advocates, staying with the child from the initial interviews through court.

"These are kids who have no voice," said Joan Mills, director of A Child's Place Mercy.

Her organization not only gives them a voice, but it also gives them a team.

Ms. Mills has been in the child advocacy field for some 18 years, first with Children's Hospital, then, in 1998, joining the new A Child's Place center.

Nearly four years ago, the need for such a center in Westmoreland County became apparent as youngsters, their families and law enforcement officials had to travel to Pittsburgh to begin dealing with child sex crimes.

They had to travel, Ms. Mills said, because, before a child advocacy program was in place, the child usually had to tell the grim story of abuse many times over, first to a parent or trusted adult, then to medical personnel, police and lawyers and in a courtroom.

At least with A Child's Place program, the child could be interviewed in a safe room by one trained person while law enforcement officials, child services staff and defense attorneys watched behind two-way glass.

"Kids are no longer being asked to tell these things nine times," Ms. Mills said.

In the years since the first A Child's Place opened, two other Allegheny County centers and one in Penn Township, have been set up.

"It's a win-win for everybody," Ms. Mills said. Law enforcement officials don't have to spend hours away from other cases. Parents don't have to drive to Pittsburgh and children are closer to their homes.

Barbara Jollie, a Westmoreland County assistant district attorney who handles a number of child abuse cases, said centers such as A Child's Place Westmoreland are invaluable.

"We don't want too many people doing interviews," Ms. Jollie said.

Young children, particularly, will change their stories or forget details, and that could hinder prosecuting the case, she said. Centers such as A Child's Place make a hard job so much easier, Ms. Jollie said.

The concept of the advocacy center is growing, she said. And the need is growing, Ms. Mills said.

"Most counties are getting these centers," Ms. Jollie said.

With the Internet, online predators have made sex crimes against children epidemic, she said. Child pornography is a multibillion-dollar worldwide business, Ms. Mills said.

It's in every community, she said.

But the state grant that helped fund the Westmoreland center for the past several years is ready to run out, and a new round of funding is necessary.

Enter Diane Morelli.

Ms. Morelli is a Westmoreland County businesswoman and chairwoman of fund-raising for A Child's Place Westmoreland. She might also be one of the organization's biggest supporters.

"[Child sexual abuse] is not a racial thing. It's not a financial thing," she said.

It's an across-the-economic-spectrum thing that sometimes involves strangers at the bus stop or on the Internet, other times, someone the child knows, she said.

She wants to get the word out that 100 percent of the proceeds from the second annual Levin Furniture auction, set to begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 9 at the Greensburg No. 1 fire hall on McLaughlin Drive, will go to A Child's Place.

Ms. Mills said furniture store owner Robert Levin is a big supporter of the program and has donated a truckload of furniture for the auction each year.

Another event, a luncheon at the Norwin Elks, is being planned for Oct. 7.

The money keeps the lights on at the Westmoreland center and helps pay salaries of the staff and the psychologists who are the child's advocates through the process and who develop and present programs in the community on sexual predators.

Very little of the funds collected go to Ms. Morelli's pet project: personal backpacks. This part of the advocacy program depends almost exclusively on independent generosity.

Sometimes, abuse happens at home, which can mean children are quickly spirited away with little more than the clothes on their backs. These children have left behind favorites toys, books and necessities.

Through the backpack program, every child is given a backpack filled with age- and gender-appropriate pajamas, underwear and socks, shampoo and toothpaste, a comb and toothbrush, maybe some crayons, books and a toy they can take along to a foster home.

Ms. Morelli said the backpacks are coded so workers know whether it is appropriate for a 3-year-old girl or a 17-year-old boy.

Individuals or clubs can adopt A Child's Place Westmoreland backpack program as a project and can help, Ms. Morelli said.

If anyone wants to donate a full backpack, "just think about what to pack [for a trip] to Grandma's," she said.

Her business, Access Glass & Mirror on Route 130 in Penn Township, is a drop-off and collection point for the backpacks. Many they had on hand recently were donated by Wal-Mart, which also gives the organization gift cards so they can be filled.

In view on top of the pile of backpacks in Ms. Morelli's store was a large bagful of new shoes from Wal-Mart, sized to fit the smallest of toddlers.

Did she believe those tiny shoes would actually be needed in the context of a sexual abuse advocacy program?

She barely contained her emotion.

"People just need to get it. It happens," Ms. Morelli said.

For more information on how to help, call Ms. Morelli at 724-744-9800.