Child Care Organizations Raise Awareness of Child Abuse Issues
One hundred and twenty-two pairs of shoes were laid out on the steps of City Hall, each one representing a case of child abuse per month in the Berkshires.
And that's only the confirmed cases. Many others are never reported or confirmed. That number continues to grow.
On Friday, child-care organizations and elected officials laid out 122 pairs of shoes on the steps of City Hall to raise awareness of the issue.
"While these are symbols, there are faces and names associated with every one," state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing said.
The Children's Trust, a statewide organization, and the local Child Care of the Berkshires and Berkshire Children and Families hold the event annual in conjunction with child abuse prevention month. The display isn't only intended to raise awareness but also tell people that there is help out there.
"We're here to shine a spotlight on effective programs that get in early," said Suzin Bartley, executive director of the Children's Trust.
Locally, the Children's Trust and Child Care of the Berkshires run several parenting programs — from an in-home parenting support and coaching for first-time parents to a family resource center in North Berkshire and a class for positive discipline. Bartley says the goal is to help create the best family structures for children to grow up in.
"We make it really hard for parents to know where things are in the area. Let's make it easier," she said.
Tina Myers is graduating from the program this year and said it changed her life. She was scared when she got pregnant and didn't have family who could help guide her. The program, she said, has made her a better parent.
"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," she said. "They guided me. They were my cheerleader the whole way. They helped."
The group also awarded state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, the "Western Massachusetts Champion for Children" award.
Pignatelli, however, said it is partnerships that make positive changes in the Berkshires. On the state level, funding for programs to help families can't be provided without help from the Senate, he said, and he is sharing the award with Downing.
"Partnerships are the only way we can be successful in the state Legislature," Pignatelli said.
But looking over those shoes, a sight he called "disgusting," Pignatelli vowed to continue to do everything he can to eliminate child abuse altogether.
State Rep. William 'Smitty' Pignatelli was presented the Western Massachusetts Champion for Children award.
"We have the commitment. We have the hope. And we have the passion to prevent child abuse," she said.
Berkshire Children and Families Executive Director Carolyn Mower Burns said the solution to the problem is right in the community. She said by being good neighbors, good friends, and voting for programs that support children, there is a solution.
"We can't expect state agencies to solve local problems," Burns said.
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, sits on the Joint Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Subcommittee and was recently part of a panel investigating the Department of Children and Families. She said funding has been increased for the department but not at a pace keeping up with the needs and that the majority of the funds ends up going toward children who had been removed from homes. Instead, she is advocating for more funds to prevent families from reaching that point.
"We know that the opioid epidemic we are going through is putting a tremendous about of stress on the department," Farley-Bouvier said.
City Council President Peter Marchetti also spoke, echoing many of the same themes.
Tags: child abuse, children & families, state officials,
