56 APRIL 2025 | INTHEVUE.COM AIMEE CLYMER- HANCOCK BELIEVES in a future where everyone in McCracken County is safe from violence and victimization. It’s why she works as First Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for McCracken County. It’s also why she created her first Vulnerable Victim Unit of specialized prosecution while serving as First Assistant in Graves County. She then become the Deputy Executive Director of Victims Advocacy for the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General. This past January, Aimee returned to McCracken County to create and lead her second Vulnerable Victim Unit focused on the aggressive prosecution of predators who perpetrate child physical and sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and other crimes of exploitation. But even though Aimee spends her days focused on justice and a safer community, she is aware that she cannot do it alone. She cannot even do it fully with the help of her team that includes Commonwealth’s Attorney Donna Dixon, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Grace Stewart, Victim Advocate Sara Hartery, and Vulnerable Victim Unit Legal Assistant Tess Williamson. The task is too monumental for Aimee’s office alone. Fortunately, she has a community partner in her endeavors – Lotus. Lotus is the regional children’s advocacy and sexual violence resource center for the eight regions in Kentucky’s Purchase Area. Through their work in providing specialized and restorative therapy services and medical, legal, and personal advocacy for survivors and their support systems, Lotus literally meets Aimee’s work halfway. “Crimes of sexual violence, exploitation, and abuse impact victims in every aspect of their lives,” Aimee says. “A trauma- informed, victim-centered response demands professionals from all disciplines, and our community offers every expertise. This includes diligent law enforcement, dedicated social workers, expert medical and mental health practitioners, and a specialized and experienced prosecutorial team.” “Every tool we need for a safer McCracken County is in the arsenal,” Aimee says. “It is only through our collective investment and active collaboration that Lotus, the prosecution, and our community can ensure truth and justice for McCracken County.” Partners In Prevention Lotus is using this model of collaboration to bring them even closer to the goal of a safe community, free from child abuse and sexual violence, by bolstering their Partners in Prevention Initiative to give more individuals, organizations, and businesses the chance to advocate for survivors and create safer communities. “Lotus Partners in Prevention are community partners, businesses, organizations, and individuals that commit to creating a community where all survivors, children, and families thrive,” says Hadley Purcell, Lotus Director of Community Impact. “They are distinguished by their dedication raising awareness, financial support, volunteerism, or ambassadorship.” “There are very simple things that Partners in Prevention can do that include displaying Lotus resources or signage, joining us at a community event, making a one-time gift, or even helping us to create policies that strengthen families, protect children, and prevent sexual violence,” she says. But for Lotus, this program adds up to more than simply building a base of supporters for their critical mission. Through Partners in Prevention, they are creating advocates and arming them with the information and resources they need to go out into the community and take steps to make it safer for everyone. “Child abuse and sexual violence impact all of us,” Hadley says. “We may not always know who has been affected by these experiences, and we shouldn’t assume we can tell who has, or assume that we don’t know anyone who has been affected.” “When organizations, businesses or individuals become Partners in Prevention, it sends the message to survivors that they are supported in their spaces and that help is available in their community,” Hadley says. “For others, it sends the message that violence is not tolerated and has no place in our community.”
