When a child is abused, he or she carries that pain with them for life. The Brazoria County Alliance for Children offers resources to help the child and his or her family recover as best as they can.

The alliance helps children who have been abused and their families by providing forensics, medical attention and short-term therapy.

The organization launched in Angleton in 2004 and opened a satellite office in East Pearland a few years later. The Pearland office offers the same services as the Angleton office; it does not have a medical clinic, however.

In 2017, Brazoria County saw 731 cases of child abuse, as well as three child deaths, according to CEO Lisa Jolly.

“Keep in mind, this crosses every social, economic thing you can think of … this is a rural area. We’re getting kids from Pearland, Alvin, every part of Brazoria County,” said Robert Bracken, outreach and development specialist for the BCAC.

According to Jolly, the Pearland office keeps distance from being a deterrent for working parents who cannot travel to Angleton frequently.

The nonprofit also helps parents find care for their child by making all services completely free.

The alliance is funded by grants, as well as proceeds raised through events.

According to Jolly, one of the most important things that BCAC does is work with the families as well as the child and offers services for nonoffending caregivers and family members.

“The child is only going to be able to heal to the extent that his family supports him or her,” Jolly said. “As a parent, if your child had been a victim of abuse, you’re going to be dealing with your own set of issues.”

The BCAC offers 500-600 hours of therapy, including individual and group therapy.

“We have to find a way to get these kids to verbalize it and then to help them find the healing they need through therapy to really deal with it,” Jolly said.

One of the ways that the BCAC tries to help victims is through outreach—in hopes of starting a conversation in the community.

“We do a lot of training and outreach. We’re very aggressive in that because we want to create awareness,” Jolly said.  “Perpetrators rely very heavily on the fact that the community stays quiet about it, that they’re uncomfortable talking about it, and that helps the perpetrators go under the radar screen.”

Research has shown that only in half a percent of cases are children lying about abuse, which is often a result of coaching during a custody battle, Jolly said.

There are likely still many cases that never get reported.

“It’s heartbreaking because for all those 631 confirmed cases of outcry, there is probably another 30-40 percent who never say a word to anybody,” Jolly said.