Conte Awarded for Her Work With Crime Victims

Tennessee’s First Lady is back home after receiving the National Crime Victim Service Award from the US Department of Justice.

After her own 1988 kidnapping, Andrea Conte devoted herself to helping victims navigate both the justice system and the side effects that come from experiencing violent crime. Fifteen years ago, she founded You Have the Power, which has since grown into a national organization focused on assisting crime victims. As First Lady, Conte has held a series of fundraising walks to expand the use of Child Advocacy Centers in the state. The centers identify and prosecute cases of child abuse. And she says, they provide vital support and counseling.

“Whether the case gets inside a court room these kids do have a very traumatic experience they’re trying to recover from and so its important that the advocacy centers continue that work and help these kids.”

When Conte began her campaign, there were only a few Child Advocacy Centers in Tennessee, primarily in larger cities. Now they’re in all but two of the state’s 31 judicial districts.

Davidson County District Attorney Torry Johnson gives Conte for that expansion.

“It was her goal to see that they went to the small jurisdictions, to the rural areas, and I think for many it was just a dream and it’s managed to come true in large part because of her advocacy and for her creating and bringing attention to that.”

The fourth round of walks begins this Saturday at Nashville’s Warner Parks.