This story discusses child abuse, sexual abuse and suicide. Report child abuse to Kentucky’s Statewide Child Abuse Hotline at 1-877-597-233. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. LOUISVILLE — When Katya Estes wa s 13, she walked into the Family Children’s Place seeking justice and help for the years (ages 5-12) she spent being sexually abused by her grandfather.  The organization, which received a $150,000 grant on Wednesday from Kosair for Kids to fund a new therapy dog, became her safe place, she said. Staff supported her through her criminal case and, later, a civil case against her abuser.  “I had people from here who were a part of my case when I was younger show up to my civil trial to support me years later,” she told the Lantern. She called Family Children’s and Kosair for Kids her “protector” and the “heroes of my journey.”  Katya Estes is a survivor and advocate for other child abuse survivors. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Estes was at the Family Children’s Place Wednesday as the organization announced the retirement of its therapy dog, Emmie, and introduced her replacement-in-training, Kai. Emmie has spent most of her life (she is 8) helping around 3,000 children cope with the trauma of abuse, human trafficking and other types of mistreatment.  Once his training is complete, Kai, who is 6 months old, will spend his days alongside children in therapy sessions, letting survivors pet, hold or lean on him as needed. The golden doodle will also sit with survivors as they undergo forensic interviews, which are specialized conversations during which interviewers will gather information from a child about their case.  Kai will help countless children who need a calming, grounding presence during the worst moments of their lives. While there was no therapy dog on hand when Estes came in for help at the center roughly 16 years ago, she said animals have been instrumental in her own healing.  In her adult advocacy work with Family Children’s, she said, she will often take a deep breath and reach for Emmie.  “They’re just … therapeutic, and they sense you, and they kind of check in with you too,” she said. “And I think that’s all very unconditional.”   ‘Those kids need us.’ Barry Dunn, the president and CEO of Kosair for Kids, at the Family Children’s Place. Feb. 11, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Kosair for Kids has given Family Children’s Place nearly $5 million since 1996, the organization said, “to protect and heal children from child abuse and neglect.”  The latest grant of $150,000 will fund Kai’s work at the center, support the Kentucky Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) program and support an education and training coordinator to help teach community members about child abuse.  Barry Dunn, the president and CEO of Kosair for Kids, said this money is about “building a bridge that leads in hope and in healing.”  “It’s a sad fact that 14,505 children were abused or neglected in Kentucky in the most recent year we have data,” Dunn said. “Over 9,000 of those were first time victims. Those kids need us, and ‘us’ is a royal us, and it means all of us.”  The national Child Maltreatment report, which was released in January, shows there were about 9,377 first-time victims in 2024 in Kentucky. Rates of child maltreatment have decreased since 2020, but Kentucky’s rate of child maltreatment is still much higher than the national average. The report also showed about 30% of abuse and neglect victims were younger than 4.  “In Kentucky, nearly two-thirds of substantiated cases of maltreatment were first-time victims, which means we have the clear opportunity to target prevention services and supports so incidents do not rise to the level of harm to a child,” Shannon Moody, chief policy and strategy officer of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said in a statement. “It also means that we have an urgent need for improvement in supporting victims and families after a substantiation of maltreatment, as one-third have previous child welfare involvement.”  Children get referred to Family Children’s from law enforcement or Child Protective Services, and can get forensic interviews, medical exams and therapy from advocates. The organization also runs a HANDS program, offers parenting classes, hosts visitations and more.  When children walk through the doors — with a nonoffending caregiver — a therapy dog’s presence can help comfort and relax them, said Kai’s handler and “pawrent,” Emily Keaton. She is a forensic interviewer and a secondary handler for Emmie as well.  Kai, right, and Emmie, left. Feb. 11, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) When Emmie enters a family room, Keaton said, you can “just see the anxiety and the fear just leaving them completely.”  “The kids were just like, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a dog, and she’s fluffy and she has bows on her!’” Keaton said. “So, if we have kids that are really scared or they don’t know why they’re here, we make sure to say, ‘hey, you know, we have a facility therapy dog here. Would you like to meet them?’ And they just love that.”  Just having the dog in the room with a traumatized child can “make a difference,” Keaton said: “They provide a comfort and a support to them while they’re disclosing really difficult things that’s happened to them.”  ‘I’m a warrior.’  Estes, now 29, is committed to advocating for policy changes that could help other survivors, saying “I’m not going to be silenced.” She said predators need to face harsher penalties (her abuser spent about two months behind bars) and young children need better education on specific anatomy names and what unsafe touch encompasses.  She also said kids can’t afford mental health workers to be cut from schools, as was recently proposed (and then reversed) in the Jefferson County Public School System.  Katya Estes pets Emmie. Feb. 11, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) “The reason why I disclosed my abuse was because I had a mental health worker in my school to disclose it to,” Estes said. “I wouldn’t have if she wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have. And I really, truly believe that.”  After Estes reported the abuse she endured and fought for justice, she struggled for years with her mental health. The type of abuse she survived is a significant adverse childhood experience, or ACE, which can often follow people into their adult lives.  “I struggled really bad for years,” Estes told the Lantern. “I had nightmares every night for years.” She even tried to end her own life.  Therapy has helped her tremendously as she has worked through her post-traumatic stress, she said.  “I have a safe family now, I have a safe space, I have safe people around me,” she said. I do a lot of self care; that has really improved my mental health over the years. Also, I’m a warrior. I made it, and it is possible to heal.” Kai on Feb. 11, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE The post KY woman survived years of child abuse. New canine companion will help others like her. appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less