'Walk in My Shoes' stops in Panama City to raise awareness on child sexual abuse

Yahoo

27-04-2025

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Lauren's Kids Foundation is walking the entire state of Florida to raise awareness on child abuse and sexual assault. They started in Key West on April 2nd, moving to a different city each day, until they reached Tallahassee on Wednesday.
Founder Lauren Book says every step counts in the fight to prevent child sexual abuse.
'Every day, we see the survivors in the community. They come in here and they come in, year out. And so we've watched them grow many times to become thriving survivors. And that's a really special thing,' Lauren's Kids Foundation Founder & CEO Lauren Book said.
Participants began at the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center. They picked up their event t-shirts and put on friendship bracelets as they geared up for the walk.
Then they followed event cars as they walked in a two-mile loop from the children's advocacy center. For those who wanted to walk more, they could walk an additional 5 miles up Highway 77.
Lauren's Kids Foundation offered Uber codes for anyone doing the long walk so they can get back to their vehicles. While they walk, the goal is to show the community that it's okay to tell and it's okay to heal.
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'It is really important for people to see and know that if something like this does happen to you, it is not a life sentence, that with healing and therapy and the support of your community and your family and your friends, this is a small part of who and what you are. It is not going to derail your entire life. Look, as a survivor, I know the pain. I know the difficulty that comes with this type of crime, but it is overcomeable,' Book said.
Advocates emphasize the importance of believing and listening when someone tells you they have experienced sexual abuse.
'The average age of a disclosure is 42 years. So someone will wait 40 years if they ever tell. So we are very lucky that we're not only the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center, we are also the Gulf Coast Sexual Assault Program. So we can work with adults who never told, and we see that a lot. They came forward that it happened to them when they were three years old. They still deserve to have a place for hope and healing. And we provide that to them at no cost,' the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center Trauma Treatment Team Program Coordinator, Tasha Jackson, said.
Statistics show that 90% of child sexual abuse is preventable through awareness.
The Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center works to educate children through community outreach.
'We get into the schools, we teach children about the warning signs of abuse and how to tell, and we give them an opportunity to share anything that they've experienced. So that's the most important thing, is making sure that kids have the words to tell and know how to tell and have the opportunity,' Jackson said.
Lauren's Kids Foundation will stop in Marianna for another walk on Monday. Their final walk will be in Tallahassee on Wednesday.
To get involved, click here.
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