Cherishing Families...Affirming Families

By Sharon Pierce, President & CEO of The Villages

April marks Child Abuse Prevention month and this year’s theme is “CHERISHING CHILDREN…AFFIRMING FAMILIES!” In partnership with Prevent Child Abuse America, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana has “re-framed” Child Abuse Prevention Month to focus on the “promise” that the future and well being of EVERY child affords us.

This year, champions for children planted 1,000 Blue Pinwheels in the lawn at the Indiana State Museum to represent the number of children born in Indiana last year. Just one Pinwheel represents eighty-seven (87) live births…that’s 87,000 children born in 2009 that need to be cherished, safe, and nurtured!

Imagine the “human capital” that 87,000 Hoosiers who are nurtured in a family… healthy, well educated, and self sufficient can have in just a few years on our neighborhoods, our schools, our communities, our businesses, our government, and our State!

That is the essence of both the challenges and the opportunities which lay before us. But by CHERISHING CHILDREN AND AFFIRMING FAMILIES… by treasuring and protecting each child to acknowledge how truly valuable they are, our vision can become a REALITY! We celebrate the HOPE which these 87,000 new infants stand for…but we are also creating a legacy which will honor the children who tragically lost their lives to child abuse and neglect in Indiana last year.

Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, a Division of The Villages, in collaboration with Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, has championed a THINK TANK of solution-minded community leaders and organizations who are working diligently to make supporting parents one of their highest priorities. The KIDS CAN’T WAIT initiative is a reminder to ALL of us that there is an urgent need for parental support and education for EVERY family.

Our collective message is a simple one… IT IS A SIGN OF STRENGTH, AS A PARENT OR CAREGIVER OF CHILDREN, TO ASK FOR HELP AND SUPPORT! WTHR has developed some new, dynamic public service announcements featuring several of our dedicated community leaders, which will air in the near future! Billboards reminding parents that sometimes WE are the ones who need a TIME OUT are placed throughout the city! Prevent Child Abuse Indiana operates a 1-800-CHILDREN line, to provide information for parents who are seeking a parent education class or a supportive service in their neighborhood. And for our technologically savvy parents, IndianaKidsCantWait.org is available as a “starting point” for parent information.

Our hope and prayer is that EVERY Indiana citizen will become engaged in the lives of our Hoosier children…and cherish each child as if he or she were YOUR OWN!

I often share that being blessed to be the parent of four children is the most difficult job of ANY listed on my resume…but it’s also the most important! This April, and EACH MONTH throughout the year, we are imploring EVERY citizen in Indiana to CHERISH OUR CHILDREN…
To TREASURE Our Children…
To PROTECT Our Children…
To NURTURE Our Children…
To TEACH Our Children…
And to CELEBRATE Our Children!

There’s an urgency in Indiana to keep our children healthy, loved and safe!

How? Start with YOUR OWN CHILDREN…making them your Highest Priority! Embrace the child next door to you who seems hungry for affection! Reach out to a Grandparent who is heroically raising her grandchildren! Or help the child in your school or faith community who most needs it!

Why? As our beautiful children remind us…we need to be CHERISHING CHILDREN AND AFFIRMING FAMILIES…

BECAUSE KIDS CAN’T WAIT!

Matilda...everyone's favorite little girl!

by Taryn Stark and Maggy McDaniel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfJAvIA9aJY

Whether we fell in love with Matilda as parents watching the movie with our children, or as children ourselves, most of us love the little girl! She is innovative and driven, intelligent and compassionate. Who wouldn’t love such a well-behaved and devoted daughter? Matilda, however, is an exception to the rule. Raised in an indifferent and clearly unloving family, Matilda proves to be an exception to the rule of an abused and neglected child. In 2007, 80% of 21 year-olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder (more details found here: http://www.childhelp.org/resources/learning-center/statistics). Though this statistic is bleak, it does reflect the reality of the world in which we live.

Child abuse is not solely defined as physically harming one’s child, as many people today are inclined to believe. Child maltreatment is illustrated in a number of different ways, some of which include neglect, physical abuse, psychological abuse or emotional abuse and are all produced as a result of acts or omissions of acts by parents or caregivers.

At The Villages, we strive to not only lower the unfortunate reality of child abuse, but also to eliminate it all together. We believe that one-on-one personal devotion and love are the most positively influential things that a child can receive. Our vision is that every child we serve will flourish in a healthy, nurturing self-sufficient family. We hold that this kind of love and affection can be found most abundantly through foster-care and adoption, not institutions. As such, we are dedicated to servicing Indiana’s children to the best of our ability.

As the month of April is Child Abuse Prevention month, we are committed to raising awareness of child maltreatment throughout Indiana and hopefully the world. If you are interested in getting involved with The Villages or learning more about our organization, please contact us:

Official Villages' Website

Donated Online
Phone: 317.273.7575 or 800.874.6880

Prevent Child Abuse Indiana

By: Sandy Runkle, PCAIN Program Director

Typically, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana does not comment about specific cases regarding violence against children. However, sometimes situations arise that are so horrific, they require not just a comment, but rather a call to action. By now, most people in Indianapolis are aware of the killing of an eight year old boy during a domestic disturbance. After reading the story in the newspaper, I continued by reading the comments submitted by readers. Of course there was understandable outrage, as there always is after this type of tragedy. Predictably, many of the comments were directed at the perpetrator, and what type of consequences he should face. Although any type of violent act should have appropriate consequences, our question…one which we often ask, is what could have been done to prevent this act from occurring in the first place? The real issue is, when our children do not have the opportunity to grow up in healthy and safe environments, we all suffer, and potentially put our own futures at risk. These tragedies do not just impact the families and friends of the victim; they impact our society as a whole. We invest in our children, and if we do not protect those investments, we face a far more dangerous type of “recession”. By encouraging families to seek help when they are overwhelmed; by paying attention to children in our neighborhoods; by knowing community resources to be able to assist friends and family; by investing in education, appropriate childcare, early childhood programs…these are just a few of the things we can do for our children and families. We can also educate ourselves about policies that impact children, and contact our Legislators when we are concerned about these policies. In the time it takes to write a “Readers comment” at the end of a story, an e-mail or phone call could be made to a policy maker or community resource. If we mistakenly believe that all problems involving violence toward children exist within the family, then how can we, at the same time, believe that all of the problems can be solved within that same family?

These tragedies occur in all ethnicities and socioeconomic realms. Even if there are some out there who do not believe that statement, and unfortunately there will be, then without argument it can be said these tragedies impact all ethnicities and socioeconomic realms. In other words, we all have a stake in helping children. Despite what people have been led to believe, very little spending has been done on programs for children. In fact, over the last 20 years spending has decreased, and that trend is expected to continue.

I want to conclude by mentioning that one reader’s comment in particular struck me. They commented, and I’m paraphrasing, that because of the environment in which that child was growing, that he probably would one day grow up to be violent. However as research shows, he would have just as likely grown up to be a teacher, or police officer, or bus driver, or perhaps the doctor who finds a cure for cancer. We’ll never know will we, because any future possibilities were ended for him a few nights ago.

(Prevent Child Abuse Indiana is a division of The Villages and is committed to preventing child abuse in all its forms.)