July 2017   |   21  

E

very year more than 3.6 million 

referrals are made to child 

protection agencies involving 

over 6.6 million children. This 

statistic is staggering. One incredible 

organization located in Pensacola, 

Florida is doing everything in their 

power to lower this number to zero. 

Every child deserves a home filled 

with love, comfort, support and safety 

and Gulf Coast Kid’s House strives to 

provide every child with this. Gulf Coast 

Kid’s House is a children’s advocacy 

center serving Escambia County. They 

are unique in that they provide all of 

the professionals and resources needed 

for the intervention, investigation and 

prosecution of child abuse cases under 

one child-friendly facility. 

Executive Director, Stacey Kostevicki 

is passionate about their mission 

saying, “Our goal is to form a more 

collaborative response to child abuse 

cases so that we can improve case 

outcomes and minimize 

trauma to the children and 

families we serve.” Working 

for this incredible cause is 

life changing. Stacey began 

her journey with Gulf Coast 

Kid’s House back in 2006 

assisting with marketing and 

has been an integral part 

of the organization ever 

since. They work towards 

addressing many of the 

underlying issues as well by 

providing child victims and 

their families with mental 

health counseling at the 

center. The mission of Gulf 

Coast Kid’s House is also a mission of 

the community. They were created out 

of a community effort to handle child 

abuse cases more effectively. 

Today they are still heavily supported 

by the community and in turn, support 

the local community through child 

abuse prevention efforts provided 

free to children and adults. Helping 

these deserving children takes a 

village and GCKH relies heavily on 

community support. There are many 

ways to contribute, from monetary 

donations or providing new and 

gently used clothing items for their 

children’s closet, to volunteering 

throughout the year to help with their 

prevention programs and fundraising 

events. Stacey Kostevicki works at the 

heart of the organization, “The most 

rewarding part of this job is supporting 

everyone working within Gulf Coast 

Kid’s House,” she described. “They 

really have the hard jobs – I like to call 

myself a cheerleader and advocate for 

the people that do the hard work.” For 

additional information visit

www.GulfCoastKidsHouse.org or call

(850) 595-5783.

story by

Courtney Murray

 | 

photos provided by

Gulf Coast Kid’s House

Gulf Coast

Kid’s House

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