We provide trauma-informed care and education to children, families and our community as they navigate through the world of abuse.
Child abuse happens in every community, regardless of socio-economic status, race, religion, education or ethnicity. It happens in places like homes, neighborhoods, schools, churches, daycares, and youth sports environments, but it also occurs online. It is vital that we be willing to have an honest conversation about child abuse and what we as a community can to do to better protect our children from it.
We have been serving the community for over 20 years. Since we opened our doors in 2000, we have continually expanded our services as the number of children and families who need us has grown. In 2006, we opened a facility in Hohenwald, TN (Lewis & Perry counties), and we opened a third facility in Centerville, TN (Hickman County) in 2016. It is our ongoing goal to continue to expand our services to better meet the needs of the children and their families in our communities.
We often hear people say they didn’t know about Davis House until they are asked to bring their child to us, or when we are able to conduct community education sessions to bring awareness to child abuse. Over and over, we hear the same people say they are glad we are in the communities, and that the services we offer are vital to healing and restoration in the community. Our desire is to expand our reach into the community to be resource for anyone needing our help, even before they actually do.
Why our services are so vital
According to the most recent census figures, there are almost 70,000 children under the age of 18 in our four-county service area. National statistics tell us that 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused by the time they turn age 18. Statistics also tell us that only 12% of cases of abuse are actually reported to authorities.
That means almost 90% of all cases go unreported.
These children are from our community; go to our schools, frequent our centers of worship, live in our neighborhoods and often in our own homes. Child abuse can happen anywhere.
See Our Spaces
We strive to make all of our spaces child-friendly and as comfortable as possible for the children that come to us for help. Take a look into these spaces.
To report known or suspected abuse in Tennessee, call the TN Child Abuse Hotline
Our Team
We have an excellent staff who are all committed to delivering quality service in a professional manner to a wide variety of constituents. Our direct service staff provides expert and compassionate care to child victims of abuse and their non-offending parents or caregivers. Our staff effectively collaborates with other child abuse professionals on each case so that we may deliver competent services to our investigative partners. Our outreach efforts are designed to effectively engage and train the public so that members of the community know where to get help and are better prepared to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to incidents of child abuse.
Executive Director
Brent recently joined Davis House as Executive Director. He began his duties May 4, and will be on-site at the Franklin location starting May 18. He brings nearly 25 years’ executive experience in cross sector leadership, team development, program implementation, frontline fundraising and community development. He earned the PhD in Leadership Studies, the Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Certificate from Duke University, and was named an Obama Fellow by the Barack Obama Foundation, one of only twenty civic innovators from around the globe, in 2019.
Click staff member for full bio
