Flag ceremony commemorates child abuse victims
Apr. 1—LIMA — The Lima Fire Department Memorial Honor Guard stood at attention, their hands raised in a salute, but this reverent moment was not for a loss of one of their own, but for a different kind of victim.
The honor guard gathered with other community representatives Tuesday morning at Allen County Children Services for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The flag used to commemorate this month features outlines of children filled in with blue on a red background with an outline of a child left blank to commemorate children who have lost their lives due to abuse and neglect.
"On April 1, we do our annual flag raising to remind the community of the abuse and neglect happening," Allen County Children Services Executive Director Sarah Newland said. "It does happen, and we all play a role in preventing it and making sure as reporters [of abuse] we are ensuring children are safe."
During the ceremony, Allen County Commissioner Brian Winegardner issued a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Commissioners, noting that protecting the county's most vulnerable, while primarily a moral imperative, also offers practical benefits to both the county and society at large.
"Children are Allen County's most precious and valuable resource, and each child has the right as a human being to live and grow in a safe and supportive environment," he said. "Children who are loved and nurtured grow up to love and nurture others by giving back to their own family, their community and their state the care that was bestowed upon them."
According to Newland, approximately one in 13 children in Allen County were the victims of abuse or neglect in 2024, a statistic that makes efforts to raise awareness and encourage community action all the more imperative.
"Not a day goes by in Allen County when we're not getting a report of abuse and neglect, and we're responding to those every day," she said. "Those reports come in in the evenings, on weekends and holidays, so it is prevalent, and the recognition that it does happen is the first step in all of us knowing what we can do next to prevent it."
For more information on Allen County Children Services and its observances during Child Abuse Prevention Month, go to https://bit.ly/3XFA1BG.
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