Raising awareness to promote prevention

Efforts are held nationally and locally in April each year to raise awareness of child abuse in communities with a goal of prevention.

Dr. Goodall’s House in Stephens County and Virginia’s House in Young County join those efforts each year as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month. 

“We are raising awareness... and bringing attention to the community for recognizing child abuse, recognizing the signs of child abuse and the importance and role that we all play in our community to support the children within Young and Stephens County,” Virginia’s House Executive Director Kaci McKinzie said.

The Stephens and Young county organizations provide a children’s advocacy center, advocates with North Star Texas CASA and prevention, education and outreach, through programs such as the mentor program with schools.

“A basis for the work that we do is creating awareness within our community, whether it is parents, community members, or even the children within our community,” McKinzie said. “We want to prevent the opportunity for child abuse to happen by creating that awareness. The awareness of safe adults, the awareness of boundaries and also just the awareness for recognizing and reporting the signs of child abuse.”

The organization has a number of awareness initiatives that also serve as fundraisers for the organization. One new initiative is a pinwheel garden that can be sponsored by individuals or businesses.

“It’s going to be displayed throughout April to raise awareness for child abuse prevention,” Morgan Shook with Virginia’s House said. “Basically, you just pick a package and you get sponsored by a sign recognizing your business or family as the official sponsor for the pinwheel garden.”

The the first package is $25 and includes 10 blue pinwheels planted at a home or business of your choice along with a yard sign acknowledging support and commitment to standing against child abuse.

Additional packages are $50 for 25 blue pinwheels to be planted at a home or business of your choice and an included yard sign and $85 for 50 blue pinwheels and two yards signs recognizing support and sponsorship of the garden.

To participate, contact Dr. Goodall’s House at 201 S. Geneva St. in Breckenridge or Virginia House at 720 Elm St. in Graham at 940-549-9829.

The organization also hosts Denim Days throughout April which allows businesses to show their support for child abuse prevention by allowing employees to wear denim for a $5 donation per day to Virginia’s House. 

“The fundraisers that we do, and the support that people give, go directly back into the services that we provide our families. Whether that is through the cost of a forensic interview, the cost of counseling or therapy services, all of the efforts that we have within the community go directly back into funding those direct services to families,” McKinzie said.

During the month of April, organizations will place blue ribbons around their communities. The blue ribbon comes from Bonnie Finney, a Virginian grandmother who tied a blue ribbon to the antenna of her van after the murder of her 3-year-old grandson, Michael. 

Finney used blue ribbons, symbolizing the bruises that covered her grandchildren, as a sign of her personal commitment to end child abuse.

Dr. Goodall’s House and Virginia’s House follow the mission of protecting children, strengthening families and building safer communities through prevention, education and outreach.

One of the main ways they accomplish that goal is through their Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) which bring together a multidisciplinary group in response to child abuse.

“Once a report of abuse or neglect are sent into the child abuse hotline, we work hand-in-hand with a team of partners throughout the community to ensure that a proper interview and investigation is moved forward,” McKinzie said.

The organization has a child-centered, trauma-informed approach to support the investigation and prosecution of abuse cases, with forensic interviews performed on victims so they only have to tell their stories once.

“They are brought into Virginia’s House and connected with a family advocate and a forensic interviewer who is specially trained in communicating and connecting with children ages 3-17 to conduct that conversation to ensure that we collect all of the information needed for that particular case,” McKinzie said.

The organization also has CASA volunteers who are trained community advocates who speak for children in foster care who have experienced abuse or neglect.

“That advocate stays with that child throughout the duration of their case. Oftentimes, that is the only adult that stays connected and committed to that child from the beginning of their case to the close of their case,” McKinzie said. “That is a very special program that we’re very proud of.”

There are also various prevention, education and outreach programs put on by the organization, with the mentor program being the most notable across Young and Stephens counties.

“That is currently in all school districts within Young and Stephens County. We are really excited and proud of the partnerships that we have and the support we have with our mentors that are part of that program currently,” McKinzie said. “It is our goal to continue to deepen the engagement with our mentors and our mentees and grow that program ... (and are) looking for opportunities to expand to surrounding areas as well.”

For more information regarding services in Stephens County, visit virginiashousetx.org.