Hicks named vice president of Floyd County Child Abuse Prevention Council

To The Press

The Floyd County Child Abuse Prevention Council is the local child abuse council for Floyd and Mitchell counties.

“The council consists of local organizations that have a passion for preventing child abuse,” said Amber Hicks, a sexual assault advocate for Crisis Intervention Service who was recently named a vice president of the council.

Partners in the Child Abuse Prevention Council include, but are not limited to, Public Health, Lutheran Services in Iowa, Crisis Intervention Service, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Learning Connection, Families Making Connections, law enforcement, school educators, Department of Human Services and parents, Hicks said.

“We welcome anyone as a guest, so please consider joining as a member,” she said. “Our meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at Messiah Lutheran Church in Charles City at 11:30 a.m.

Hicks and her family live in Rudd. As a sexual assault advocate for Crisis Intervention Service, she serves Floyd, Mitchell and Worth counties. She has been with Crisis Intervention since July 2020, and said she enjoys being able to help survivors of sexual assault by advocating for them.

Other officers of the council are Council President Jason Merten, Treasurer Shelley Smith and Secretary Samantha Soash.

“We focus on promoting child abuse prevention during the month of April by putting the blue people in the parks and pinwheel gardens at the libraries,” Hicks said. “Our partners offer parenting classes, in-home parenting support, mentoring services, adult education on sexual abuse, child safety presentations in the schools, local trainings such as Our Kids Count and Nurtured Heart Approach, and so much more.”

The Floyd County Child Abuse Prevention Council also offers a yearly clothing drive free to families in need of winter items.

Anyone interested in participating in the council or in more information can contact Soash at Samantha.soash@lsiowa.org.