Leaving the CAC: A Parting Gift
- Tori Leto
- Nov 19
- 3 min read
Spending the last year at RISE Community Solutions / CAC Osceola has been an unforgettably formative experience. Leaving almost feels like a breakup. Packing my office to move back to Tampa, I am excited for this next chapter but forever grateful for the learning and experiences I had here. I will always hold other organizations and jobs to the standards this one gave me.
I had a Executive Director who was consistently honest, prompt, and vulnerable about the political landscape and the impacts it had on our staff and the families we served. I had a supervisor who answered her phone at any hour and adapted to what I needed to debrief and get through the harder cases, while still challenging me to improve my skills and perspectives. I had fellow advocates who felt like family, going beyond good mornings and goodbyes, sharing lunches, investing in my story, and rooting for my future impact. It was the most amicable split I could ask for as they support me moving forward into something that is best for me.
A Parting Gift
Something I worked on this year was writing and securing grants so I could better support the social work spaces I am involved in. Thanks to the Rileys Way Foundation and securing a spot as a Call for Kindness Fellow, I was given the resources to leave my mark on the CAC Osceola before I left.
If you are not familiar with a Children’s Advocacy Center, it is a wrap around service hub for families and child victims of child sexual abuse. It is a traumatic and horrible experience for anyone to go through. The staff do everything they can to create a gentle and supportive beginning to healing and recovery. One of those supports is a trip to the Toy Room, which is filled with items of comfort, fun, and joy to help a child find a smile on a day that holds so much pain and challenge. I personally found some of my best moments here with our older girls, especially those 14 and up. I was always sad to watch them visit and then leave empty handed because the items simply did not resonate with them. This became my mission. Items for our teen girls.
With my grant and through consulting with Vicky Ho, an Alonzo High School IB Program senior, together we created 30 self care bags for these teens. Each one was stocked with fuzzy socks, fidget toys, journals, stickers, smiley friendship bracelets, chapstick, and handmade scrunchies. The scrunchies mean the most to me. In high school, while struggling with my own pain although different from theirs, I found comfort in sewing scrunchies and reminding myself to appreciate the small things. I called that little business of sharing my scrunchies: Sewing for Smiles. Sharing them today, after doing so for ten years, is something I take great pride in.
The Warmest Goodbye
Although I won’t be at the CAC to witness the faces of the teens receiving these care packages, my heart feels warm knowing something I created may offer even a moment of comfort, peace, or validation. Healing is rarely linear, but sometimes one small item can help a young person feel seen. Leaving this place is bittersweet. But this gift feels like the right way to close my chapter here—with gratitude, intention, and a promise to always carry forward what this team taught me.
How You Can Support
If you’re interested in contributing, there are several ways to support RISE Community Solutions and the families they serve:
CAC Osceola – Provides a safe haven and comprehensive services for children who are victims of child sexual and physical abuse and their non-offending family members.
Pathways Program – Pathways to Home helps families with children who are experiencing homelessness to obtain and maintain stable housing.
Breakthrough – Uses a peer support model to improve outcomes for families with youth, ages 9 to 17, who are experiencing significant mental or behavioral health needs.
For families facing housing instability or crisis, holiday gifts can feel out of reach. With your support, 300 children and teens in Central Florida will receive toys and gift cards this season.
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