Lakeshore Regional Child Advocacy Center in Sheboygan serves hundreds since opening in March

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- In March, a child advocacy center opened in Sheboygan, marking the first in the area and the 16th in Wisconsin.

Since then, the center has served hundreds of kids, highlighting the need in the community.

"We have seen over 250 children here since we opened," said Executive Director Amanda Didier. "Today and tomorrow, we're seeing 14 children alone."

By the end of 2025, officials are projecting a number over 300.

"Really, we just jumped right into it," Didier said. 

The center helps those impacted by sexual and physical abuse, neglect, drug endangerment and family violence.

"Another one that we see quite a bit here, perhaps more than other areas of the state or child advocacy centers, is sex trafficking," Didier said. 

One of the biggest pros for having this kind of center is that kids have quicker access to healing and support in a near one-stop shop. 

"Whereas without a child advocacy center, a child might be interviewed at school," Didier said. "They might have to go to a police department, they might have to go to an emergency room, they might have to go to a district attorney's office for a charging conference."

Instead, they're able to just do a single interview in a one-on-one setting as officials watch a livestream from a different room.

"We have all worked together to forge this path that'll ensure that children today, and in the future, have access to those services that they need to heal and thrive," Didier said. "Children that reach us today means that we'll have a healthier community in 10, 20, 30 years."

Next year, officials said they hope to expand on-site medical services by adding a partnership with Children's Wisconsin to the Sheboygan location.