Crisis Center now `Wendy's Place'; CAC rededicated in honor of Wendy Moher.

Byline: C.L. Kelly

DANIELSON - Shortly before Wendy Moher succumbed to a terminal illness in February 2007, she asked her sister, Patty Pieniadz, if her work with Northeast Connecticut victims of abuse had made a difference. Her sister's answer, and her colleagues' collective response to that question, has been a resounding "yes."

Last month, Ms. Moher's family, community officials, social work colleagues and the press gathered to celebrate the groundwork of the late Ms. Moher, who served as executive director of the Sexual Assault Crisis Service of Eastern Connecticut from 2000-2003. During her tenure, Ms. Moher worked with the center's Child Abuse Prevention and Neglect Committee to open the Children's Advocacy Center for Northeast Connecticut in Danielson.

At the ceremony, the center was renamed "Wendy's Place," in honor of Ms. Moher.

"Wendy worked with children and families all of her professional life," said Ron Coderre, CAPNC chairman and master of ceremonies. "I was always impressed with her energy and her love on behalf of other people."

The premise of the center - the site of which was donated by Day Kimball Hospital - is that instead of a victim and family being interviewed multiple times at separate agencies, agency representatives assemble together at one location: the Children's Advocacy Center. Because only one interviewer represents the assemblage and funnels their questions to the interviewee in a separate room, there is less anxiety and trauma for the victim.

"Our child advocacy center is a multidisciplinary partnership of professionals established for the investigation of allegations of child abuse," explained Christine Collins, Child Advocacy Center and multi-disciplinary team coordinator. "The primary focus of the child advocacy center is to lessen the trauma experienced by the children. One of the goals is to dramatically reduce the number of interviews a victim must undergo."

According to Danielson State Police Troop D's commanding officer, Lt. Michael Darcy, the center serves a useful purpose from an investigative standpoint.

"A less traumatized victim, in terms of the interview process, is going to yield a more fruitful and less intrusive informational session. Troop D is the primary policing agent. We get a staggering number of these cases and this has been a great tool," he said.

Putnam Chief of Police Rick Hayes said that he was surprised to learn, during the course of his police career, that Putnam has one of the highest incidences of child abuse in the state.

"Back then, we lacked training," he recalled. "We had four or five different agencies conducting four or five different interviews. There were inconsistencies, and the system wasn't working."

Chief Hayes accompanied other CAPNC members to Huntsville, Ala., for training on how to utilize and foster the new partnership created at the center, and credits Ms. Moher with boosting morale during the sessions.

"It was Wendy who kept us on track and reminded us how we were going to benefit from the training," when they suffered through energy-sapping heat, he said.

Family remembrances of Ms. Moher, who was raised in New London, included warm memories, some of which the family has included on a blog at http://wendymoher.blogspot.com.

"She was a feminist who painted her toenails pink, who would take on bullies," said Mrs. Pieniadz, a resident of New London. "She tried to fight the cycle of abuse around her. She was willing to confront evil and bring a wrong to justice. She'd come to visit sometimes devastated by the specifics of a case. It's not just about getting a perpetrator off the street but also to break the cycle because the abused often become the abusers."

June Moher talked about how her daughter had reduced incidents of children needing restraint from 30 to the single digits over a period of three months, when last working as deputy supervisor at the New Haven Juvenile Detention Center.

"What she did in New Haven was remarkable," she said.

Ms. Moher's niece, Nina Wildrick of Norwich, remembers her aunt's employment with the detention center. "She painted these walls pink/blue because they were this dull gray color," she said.

"Wendy reorganized the entire staff and the grouping of children and required more one-on-one attention by the staff," said Mrs. Pieniadz, who was joined in her walk down memory lane by her other sister, Jennifer Lapore of Norwich. "She structured their day so they knew what to expect. She put a rewards and penalty system in place."

Christopher Burke, president of the Board of Directors of the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of Eastern Connecticut, located in Willimantic and New London, said, "Wendy motivated everyone and was a problem solver when she was with the team."

"She had a great sense of humor. I think that's how she was able to pull so many people together," said Mrs. Pieniadz.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Team Coordinator Christine Collins, left, and Crisis Counselor Deana Gagliardi at "Wendy's Place" - the Children's Advocacy Center in Danielson rededicated in honor of Wendy Moher.

PHOTOG: C.L. KELLY