Kelly woke up in her home several years ago to find lights on in her den, guest bedroom and guest bathroom. In that moment, Kelly said she thought how odd the sight was because she always turns off those lights at night.
Searching through her house Kelly realized several of her belongings were missing - a desktop computer, modem, contents of a military and softball bags and flash drives that contained irreplaceable family photos, graduate school papers and scanned copies of military documents that included her social security number.
"Then, it hit me," she said. "Someone had robbed me. Someone was in my house last night and I didn't even hear them. Whoever they were, they were in my home, violating my sanctity. I felt dirty, alone, sick and anxious all at once."
She called police, who scanned her home for fingerprints and discovered a hand print on a window. Not feeling safe in her home, Kelly stayed with a friend for the weekend. Fortunately, Kelly said, she keep her bedroom door locked, preventing her from physical harm.
"So many questions were running through my head: Why? Who would do this? Will they come back?" she said.
Kelly shared her story on Friday at the Callaway Electric Cooperative as a part of the Callaway County Crime Victims' Rights Week ceremony. Every April, communities throughout the nation - including Callaway - remember and recognize crime victims for a week.
Her perpetrator was sentenced to seven years in prison, concurrent with other charges. Before he headed for prison, though, Kelly took an opportunity to face him and read her victim impact statement.
"While reading it out loud, I never wavered," Kelly said to the crowd gathered Friday. "My voice was strong and steady. I wasn't going to let this man intimidate me any longer. My gaze centered on his face, and I could tell he looked troubled by my stinging words. I thought, "Yep, you have nowhere to go. You're going to listen to me whether you like it or not.'"
Susan Sudduth, Missouri Crime Victims' Compensation program manager one of the speakers at Friday's ceremony, said the community must listen when victims like Kelly tell their stories. The theme for the national week in April was: Engaging Communities, Empowering Victims. Sudduth said that it's important for communities to create environments in which victims can feel comfortable telling their stories "not once, but as many times it takes for them to feel whole again."
"Communities must support the victim in their quest for finding a place close to where they were before the crime occurred," Sudduth said.
The public event gave an opportunity for Mid-Missouri agencies to talk about their services.
Sudduth said the Crime Victims' Compensation Program (CVCP) financially assists crime victims and their families when lost wages or loss of support is an issue. If a victim is killed during a crime, Sudduth said the CVCP helps with funeral costs and burials, housing expenses, and dependent family members can seek loss of support. For more information on CVCP, call (573) 526-6006.
"Although money cannot take away the hurt of being victimized, the CVCP can at least lessen the financial burden of those brave survivors," she said.
Brenda Berger, executive director of Rainbow House - a Columbia-based shelter program for abused and neglected children, touted her organization during the ceremony. In 2014, Rainbow House provided 225 Mid-Missouri children with crisis care and emergency shelter care. Rainbow House also conducted 409 forensic interviews of children who were victims or who witnessed a crime and 70 exams on children who were sexually assaulted. Rainbow House can be contacted at (573) 474-6600.
In her speech, Berger wrote the following poem written by a Rainbow House child:
Care for children,
They will feel safe to say anything,
They will be safe,
They will be safe here,
They will have fun right here,
Help your children make the right decisions,
And thank you for making me safe.
Kari Hopkins, development director of Coyote Hill - a children's shelter in Harrisburg, talked about how her organization takes children away from environments of abuse and neglect to ones of comfort and stabilization. Coyote Hill has four homes on its property, each with a married couple caring for the children inside.
"We give these kids, often for the first time, a glimpse of what a functioning family can look like," Hopkins said.
Because of that, Coyote Hill assists children with ending a family cycle of abuse. The organization can be contacted at (573) 874-0179.
"They really do chance their family tree," she said. "They change their family history from a place of constant abuse and neglect to a place of healing and restoration and success."
Carmen Corey, co-chairman of the Callaway County Crime Victims' Rights Committee and probation and parole officer, has helped organize the annual April event for 15 years and said it's vital to engage the community in supporting crime victims.
"I think it just helps show the community that while there are victims, there are people and places who they can talk to or go to for protection or counseling," Corey said. "And, it's to let them know that in this community, they're not alone."
She recognized the Clothes Cupboard, Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence Director Erica Nanney and Mid-Missouri Legal Services Domestic Violence Legal Counsel Danielle McAffee with awards for their dedication to crime victims.
To conclude the ceremony, Cara Page with the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center presented Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson with a plaque to commemorate the 2015 Crime Victims' Rights Week and those to come. The theme each year will be engraved on the plaque.
Wilson said he plans to hang it in a waiting room at his office where victims commonly sit before testifying in court. The room, he said, was recently named Sarah's Room in honor of a sexual assault victim who faced her abuser.
"As I thought about Sarah and what she meant to the people in our office, I wanted a constant reminder for us of what it means to be a victim and how important our interaction is with people on a day-to-day basis," Wilson said.