Victim Services
Our multidisciplinary team is made up of Core Partners and Luna Centre Staff who work together to ensure children, youth and families have the support they need.
Our multidisciplinary team is made up of Core Partners and Luna Centre Staff who work together to ensure children, youth and families have the support they need.
Coping with the impact of child abuse is not easy or straightforward. After one of Luna’s partner agencies refers a child to Luna, our Victim Services team offers help, information and referrals to anyone receiving services through our centre.
This team includes Court Coordinators, Family Support Coordinators an Indigenous Liaison and Volunteer Advocates. Together, they:
Liaise with other victim services to make support more accessible
Provide support from first entry to court and afterwards
Ensure families have a clear understanding of our process
Make sure any questions get answered by the appropriate professional
These services are provided for as long as they are needed.
Click here for information on how to recognize, report, and respond to suspicions and disclosures of abuse.
Our Child Life Specialist helps minimize the stress faced by children and families when they visit Luna through the use of:
Therapeutic play
Self-expression activities
Age-appropriate education and medical preparation
The Child Life Specialist meets with children and families as they arrive at Luna and explains what their visit will look like. To help with the explanation, the specialist might use the Luna app or anatomically correct puppets. The Child Life Specialist also works with the support of a team of volunteers, including PALS dogs.
Children are also taught coping strategies that can help reduce their anxiety.
Our Facility Dogs, DWW Zoom and DWW Axel, are both accredited and specially trained through Dogs With Wings. They provide support for children and youth during forensic interviews and during court preparation and testimonies. Facility dogs can put children and youth at ease in situations where the young person is required to talk about something difficult. Their job is to help kids feel safe and calm during what is a stressful and difficult experience.
It is your legal duty to report suspected child abuse. Reports of child abuse should not be made directly to the Luna Centre.