Pat's Place

Helping Kids Heal in a Safe Place

“Before Pat’s Place existed, there was a scattered framework and lack of coordination among the partners involved in investigating the most serious cases of child abuse,” says Andrew Oliver, CEO. “The idea for Pat’s Place Child Advocacy Center grew out of the Council for Children's Rights, a longstanding organization in Charlotte, to ensure that children and families going through truly difficult times would receive the services they need in one location.”  

Pat’s Place is named in memory of Pat Wolfe, a child advocate who had a passion for helping children in need. Prior to her passing in 2000, she was involved in the planning process for opening a child advocacy center in Charlotte. Pat’s Place provides all the healing services that children need -- medical care, forensic interviews, advocacy support, and counseling – for children from birth to 18 in a safe, nurturing, child-friendly environment, at no cost to a child's family and staffed by expert, caring, trained professionals. 

Andrew explains how Pat’s Place works in the community. “We’ve spent the last few years thinking about how we can get outside the walls of the center. We’re heavily invested in prevention programming, training thousands of adults how to recognize and respond to abuse when they see it and how to ultimately prevent it from ever happening. And we are focusing on getting information about abuse into the hands of children to empower them. We work with school systems, faith communities, and child-serving organizations.”   People can help Pat’s Place accomplish its mission by volunteering to serve on the board, helping with special events, hosting an awareness luncheon, sponsoring toy and snack drives, and donating funds.  Andrew connected with Will Bishop, TowneBank senior vice president and commercial banker, as they have worked together on the Umbrella Place, the future home of Pat’s Place in what will be Charlotte’s first Family Justice Center.