Latest news with #ChildAbusePreventionandAwarenessMonth
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Dixon's Hands Around the Courthouse aims to raise child abuse prevention awareness
Apr. 28—DIXON — About 100 people gathered outside the Old Lee County Courthouse in Dixon on Friday afternoon holding up blue pinwheels, the national symbol for child abuse prevention, at Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center's third annual Hands Around the Courthouse. The event called attention to April's Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. The 2025 theme is "Powered by hope and strengthened by connection," said Aram Perry, deputy director of child protection at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. "The pinwheel in a symbol of hope," Shining Star Executive Director Jessica Cash said. But the month is "about more than ribbons and posters and our pinwheels. It's about real children, real pain, and real hope. Thanks to the work of Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center that hope is alive and growing," Lee County Assistant State's Attorney Bridget Schott said. ExpandAutoplay Image 1 of 6 Approximately 100 people attend "Hands Around the Courthouse" Friday, April 25, 2025, to bring attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month. The blue pinwheel is a national symbol of child abuse prevention. (Alex T. Paschal) Shining Star is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy center serving those in Lee and Ogle counties. The center works with area law enforcement, prosecutors and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to investigate allegations of child abuse and, particularly, child sex abuse. Schott said in her 14 years as a prosecutor across Illinois, the best CAC she's worked with is Shining Star. "Our community really comes out and supports Shining Star and, by doing so, we as a community are telling our children we believe you," she said. At the event, one community member, Mel Burgett of Dixon, was honored for his longtime support of the center. One of the ways he does that is by not accepting payment for catching moles in others yards. Instead, Burgett asks others to donate to the center, Cash said. One of many services Shining Star provides is conducting forensic interviews with a child whom they suspect has been abused. The interview is designed so the child only has to tell their story once to a forensic interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not retraumatize the child. Law enforcement professionals who need to see the interview can watch on a monitor in a separate room, Cash said. In 2024, the center conducted 181 interviews with new children coming to the center, Cash said. On average, the agency provides services to about 300 children in Lee and Ogle counties each year. Within that 300, about 150 to 250 of them are new to the center, she said. "That's just here in our community and while the statistics are staggering, what's even more heartbreaking is that behind every number is a child. A child who is scared, silenced and often suffering in isolation," Schott said. In Illinois there are 40 CACs, including Shining Star, that also provide referrals to mental health services, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy and more. At Shining Star, the agency has a full-time counselor, who will provide individual counseling, as well as two support groups for teenagers and the child's parents or caregivers. Cash noted that all of the center's services are completely free to the children and their caregivers. It's entirely funded through federal and state grants, as well as donations and fundraisers. Shining Star has a T-shirt fundraiser and a jail and bail fundraiser that are ongoing through April. On its website, there's an ongoing wish list of in-need items, including things such as juice boxes, individual snacks, fleece blankets and more. Monetary donations can also be made on its website. Suspected child abuse can be reported to the DCFS Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Children's Advocacy Center of Hampshire County Hosts Luminaria
FLORENCE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Children's Advocacy Center of Hampshire County is hosting a series of events this month to mark Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Locals say they continue to fight for children's rights. At the event on Thursday, more than 3,000 luminarias were lit to represent the number of child abuse survivors that the center has served. 'We need to work together to make sure, as adults, we're taking care of kids and making sure we keep them safe,' says Kara Mcelhone, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Hampshire County. According to the center, 25% of those they serve are under 7 years old. 80% of those they work with are sexual abuse survivors. 'We stand together to protect children so they feel safe in this world. Unfortunately, there are children who need help feeling that way. People abuse them and treat them horribly. They need to be empowered,' says Willow with Bikers Against Child Abuse. If you would like to learn more information about the center, click here. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Victims remembered for Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month
The Brief April is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Dallas CASA held an event on Friday, using clothes from four children whose cries went unheard to bring attention to the problem. For more information about what you can do to help, visit DALLAS - The men and women who fight to protect children and prevent child abuse are trying to bring attention to the problem for Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. What's new The Dallas County Child Abuse Coalition is comprised of law enforcement officers, childcare workers, and advocates from Dallas CASA, also known as Court Appointed Special Advocates. On Friday, they all gathered for a special event in honor of Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. The overflowing crowd of men and women who work daily to save the most vulnerable from the horrors of child abuse held a moving moment of silence. "Let's take a moment now to honor and remember each of these children whose lives were taken far too soon," said District Court Judge Hector Garza. Four sets of clothing represented four children whose cries for help could not be heard last year. What they're saying Dallas CASA CEO Kathleen La Valle said changes in state legislation have made it more difficult to remove a child from the home to foster care. "So when I think about what we're doing to protect children, I think about the policies and practices. You know, what do we have in place to really be a safety net for our children? And it raises concerns in my mind today because I feel like we have swung in a direction where we are not as child-protection-focused as we should be," she said. What you can do CASA advocates for every child in a foster home strictly through volunteers. The Dallas chapter serves more children than any other CASA program across the nation. If you'd like to help, visit The organization is also asking people to take pictures of the blue lights of the Dallas skyline and use the hashtag #PreventChildAbuseDallas to acknowledge April as Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month. The Source FOX 4's Shaun Rabb attended the Dallas CASA event for Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month to gather information for this story.
