Kristi House, the Children’s Advocacy Center serving Miami-Dade County, focused on online safety for kids at its 15th Annual Breaking the Silence Luncheon October 28.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital was presenting sponsor of the event which raised funds for Kristi House services for children overcoming sexual abuse and sex trafficking trauma. Bradesco BAC Florida Bank was a major sponsor, with supporting sponsorships from Royal Caribbean Group, Regions, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniel Cohen Higgins and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe A. Martinez.

As a hybrid event, some guests attended in watch parties while others enjoyed lunch delivered to their homes. Ximena Kavalekas graciously hosted 50 guests at her beautiful store in the Design District and generously donated a portion of sales proceeds that day.

All guests were informed and inspired by a stellar panel of experts discussing online safety. Speakers included State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle; Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Albert Carvalho; Alex Loff, an FBI agent specializing in cyber crimes; and Titania Jordan, an author and specialist for the parental control app Bark.

“Online safety was a natural topic for us to focus on this year,” CEO Amanda Altman explained. “Many children we see were solicited and groomed by online predators while using their phones and devices in what parents thought was the safety of their homes. The statistics are frightening: 1 in 5 children will be solicited for sex or explicit photos from an online ‘friend,’ she said.

$100,000 in funds were raised for Kristi House’s services and prevention programs.

ABOUT KRISTI HOUSE

Kristi House, Inc., the Children’s Advocacy Center for all of Miami-Dade County, is dedicated to providing a healing environment for child victims of abuse and their families. This approach includes coordinating client families’ involvement with legal, medical and mental health systems, limiting the number of interviews to reduce the trauma associated with each retelling of the story, and ensuring that no child falls through the gaps. Kristi House also directly provides a full continuum of wrap-around services and care for victims and their families free of charge, including therapy, which is critical for recovery from the trauma of abuse for most survivors.

Kristi House is centrally located in the “Health District” area of Miami at 1265 NW 12 Avenue. Five satellite locations in other parts of Miami-Dade County serve clients in surrounding neighborhoods. Founded in 1995, Kristi House has provided services for more than 21,500 victims of child abuse and their families to help them recover from the trauma of abuse and exploitation. Services include case coordination, therapy, referral, transportation, advocacy, client emergency assistance, as well as prevention education and training. For more information, visit www.kristihouse.org.