About CAFY
Founded in 2003, Community Advocates for Family & Youth (CAFY) was established to minimize the impact the judicial had on children. CAFY build on the founder’s passion to help children who through no fault of their own had to provide testimony in the adult court.
Later, in 2005, when a public safety officer asked a volunteer at the Sexual Assault Center at the Prince George’s County Hospital if something could be done for the crime victims who were not receiving treatment at the hospital, CAFY’s victim services began. That volunteer was Arleen B. Joell, Founder and Executive Director of CAFY. The non-profit she formed in 2003 as a result of her passion and that encounter has evolved to the point that the organization was recently described by a highly respected County activist as a victim’s “social emergency room”.
Since gaining its official nonprofit incorporation in 2005, CAFY has been the only dedicated community-based victim service provider supporting PGPD. The nonprofit she formed started servicing sexual assault victims referred by the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD). More than ten years later, CAFY serves all victims of crime and has been lauded by State and Local officials for the work done for the citizens of Prince George’s County. CAFY now serves Prince George’s County Police Department along with the Cities of Laurel, Greenbelt and Bowie Police Departments.
Evolution of CAFY
2003 –CAFY is established to help child victims of crime testify in adult court.
2005 – CAFY signs MOU with PGPD to provide victim services.
2011 – CAFY establishes partnership with City of Laurel, to expand neighborhood-based services with a focus on domestic violence victims
2012 – CAFY Counseling Center opens, providing trauma-focused therapies with mental health clinicians experienced in dealing with trauma resulting from crime. Services include individual, family and group counseling, sand, art and play therapy and bilingual support groups.
2014 – CAFY launches its 24/7 Helpline, a toll-free number that victims of crime can call to receive immediate advice and be referred to additional services.
CAFY starts providing services in the City of Bladensburg, to educate citizens on domestic violence.
2015 – CAFY’s Legal Clinic is launched, providing free civil legal assistance to victims of crime. Services include assistance with protective orders, divorce, custody disputes, tenancy issues, and some immigration issues such as applications for U visas.
CAFY begins home visits for clients in risky home environments. A CAFY case manager, mental health therapist and a PGPD public safety officer visit the client to determine what additional safety measures may be required.
2016 – CAFY establishes a partnership with the Family Justice Center, setting up an office in the center to provide support to individuals who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or elder abuse
2017 – CAFY launches the Safe Transfer and Exchange Program (STEP), which offers a safe place for divorced parents to transfer their child in order to meet court-ordered visitation obligations. STEP also gives parents an opportunity to acquire parenting skills.
2018 – CAFY signs an MOU with the Child Advocacy Center, to provide services to their clients.
CAFY launches the SafeNights app, helping community to fund emergency accommodation for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
2019 – CAFY signs MOU with the Bowie and Greenbelt Police Departments, to provide victim services.
CAFY’s Purpose
CAFY’s Mission: To embrace, educate and empower those impacted, affected, or harmed by crime or trauma on their journey to justice and healing.
CAFY’s Vision: To build and continuously seek and grow new and stronger partnerships across the county and state. To bridge the community and survivors of crime or trauma that will result in lower crime, confident survivors and a more trauma-informed care system
CAFY’s Value Statement: To offer community prevention awareness and to offer all victims and survivors support and validation by taking action, speaking truth, giving voice to them and making an impact in the lives of whom we serve.
Meet the Director
Arleen B. Joell, founder of Community Advocates for Family & Youth (CAFY). Ms. Joell spent many years working as a volunteer in roles such as a domestic violence Crisis Hotline Counselor, Mentor with Big Brothers & Sisters Program, Teen Leader at the Boys & Girls Club, and a Victim Advocate. Currently, she volunteers in the Domestic Violence Ministry at her church.
Prior to CAFY, Ms. Joell worked with victims at Prince George’s Hospital’s Sexual Assault Center as an Exam Volunteer, Victim Advocate, then developed The Victim Advocacy Program and became its program’s coordinator. Now, with CAFY, in 2005 and 2010, respectively, she collaborated with the Prince George’s County and City of Laurel Police Departments to act as their victim services unit providing support and services to anyone impacted, harmed, or affected by any crime. Ms. Joell also orchestrated a partnership with the County’s Court Administration and its State Attorney’s office to conduct a unique Court Education Program for children, developed by her in 2003.
Prior to Her Victim Services Work
Ms. Joell worked for more than 20 years as a business and finance manager with the IBM and GE Corporations. Beginning her second phase after private industry she became the Jury Commissioner in the D.C. Superior Court. She has used her business experience as an adjunct instructor at Prince George’s Community College teaching practical work ethic and skills to high school graduates. She is currently a certified Family Mediator, a skill she uses at CAFY to conduct “Family Dialogue Sessions”. She is a member of the Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the National Crime Prevention Council. Ms. Joell, an emergency placement foster parent also served on the board for Maryland Network against Domestic Violence and as the Southern Regional Representative and Board Member for the Maryland Association for Victim Service Providers. She is now active in the County’s Domestic Fatality Review Team, Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Statewide Homicide Survivor Network.
She has presented at several key conferences – “Safe Harbor” hosted by the Prince Georges County State’s Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, and National Organization for Victim Assistance’s (NOVA) North American Victim Assistance Conference and Maryland Association of Resources for Family & Youth (MARFY) Conference. She has worked with the Mentoring Network, Inc. to train social workers to be “Effective Witnesses”. Ms. Joell presents annually at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden’s Red Flag Conference to raise awareness about domestic violence and resources in the community and at the National Aerospace Retiree Conference on Elder Abuse. Most recently she presented at the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health on a personal cause she believe is a national epidemic – “Adverse Childhood Trauma”. She continues to be involved as an Advocate in her current role as CEO and conduct numerous trainings with other faith-based and local organizations focused on reducing the impact of crime.
Awards and Recognition
She was awarded the Governor’s Victim Assistance Award for outstanding victim services. In 2006 she was selected by National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) as one of the nation’s 32 leaders to create a teen victimization campaign. Under her leadership, in 2006 CAFY became an approved site for the President’s National Volunteer Service Award and Volunteers in Policing Service Programs, in 2007 CAFY received a U.S. Senator’s Citation for raising public awareness about youth violence and in 2008 Ms. Joell received recognition from Prince George’s County’s Housing Department for her work in local neighborhoods to educate community residents on victim rights and services. 2014 she was awarded the Good Neighbor Award from the Prince George’s County State Attorney’s Office for her work on reducing trauma associated with crime. 2016, Ms. Joell was named “Woman of the Year” by the Southern Prince George’s County – Business Professional Women organization and received a national award from Foundation for Improvement of Justice for her development of “Kiddie Court”.
Board of Directors
2019 – 2023
- Stan D. Brown, Esq. – Board Chairman; General Counsel
- Laura Joell – Vice-Chair; Paralegal, NIH
- Elaine Moore – Secretary; Retired Major, Prince George’s County Police Department
- Shelagh Brown – Treasurer; Director of Alumni Relations, Virginia Theological Seminary
- Genia Reaves – Director of Security, National Museum of Art
- Tallulah Anderson – Community Leader, MedStar
- Marjorie Lawson – Retired, Systems Analyst
- Kay Niles – Retired, Project Manager
- Pamela Holman – Retired, Community Relations Liaison
- Avery H. Jones – Consultant, Blaze Public Relations, LLC
- Kellie Stonework – Manager, Freddie Mac
- Wanda Ramos – Division Chief, Maryland National-Capital Park and Planning Commission
- Anna Spriggs – Chief of Human Relations, Truth Initiative
Annual Report
Follow
