LYNN — Centerboard’s We Rise program celebrated a grand re-opening Friday.
The program, which has been around for 5 years, works to assist young people through preventing, intervening against, and promoting recovery from the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).
Around 25 people attended the event, which was held at the Palette Function Room at Centerboard and featured a short presentation and question and answer session meant to reintroduce to the community what We Rise does for Essex County and beyond.
A new leadership team that has recently transitioned to helming the program, celebrated We Rise’s “re-opening.”
“We want to reintroduce ourselves to the community,” Kelci DesRuisseaux, community liaison for We Rise, said. “Our presence could be so much more felt.”
We Rise provides free and confidential services like community outreach, emergency intervention and transitional and ongoing support.
Desruisseux said the eight-person team helps more than 70 young people a year, ranging in ages mostly from 10 to 21 who are referred to We Rise by everyone from teachers, police officers and parents among other community members.
Program Director Consuela Harrison, had previously served the program as an outreach worker and community liaison before moving into the leadership role.
“We just want to spread the word more,” Harrison said. “I would love for us to expand.”
Harrison noted that the goal going forward would be to do more outreach to students in order to do more preventative work, including having groups and training in schools. She also said that the program was looking for more collaboration with community partners and those interested in helping 18-20-year-olds who have left the foster system.
According to Harrison, vulnerable populations that may be victims of CSEC are runaways, victims of childhood sexual abuse and those who have or live with someone with substance abuse issues.
She added that red flags that may signal someone is a victim of CSEC are behavior changes like depression, fear and hypervigilance, unexplained absences from school and home, new groups of friends or gang activity, signs of abuse and having an older partner.
We Rise can be reached via their hotline at 781-513-6876 for those in need or looking to refer someone to the team.
