FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 25, 2019
from Crystal Johnson Shasta County Child Abuse Prevention Council
530-242-2020 cjohnson@shastacapcc.org
Redding California –Shasta County joins the nation in kicking off National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month! This is a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families.
From Oct 1, 2017 to Sep 30, 2018 there were 675 children with one or more abuse or neglect allegations in Shasta County. This is a staggering statistic that is unfortunately rising. The Shasta County Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council (Shasta CAPCCC) has been on the front lines fighting against child abuse and neglect for several years. We believe that together, our community must work towards creating a place where no child is harmed by abuse and neglect. To keep our children safe, community-minded individuals across the state are standing up for families; let’s join that stance here in Shasta County.
Crystal Johnson, Project Manager for The Shasta County Child Abuse Prevention Council said “The buzz phrase lately is “Adverse Childhood Experiences” and that phrase is linked to the ACEs survey administered in Shasta County in 2012. That data showed that our county scored double the CA average. Aces may include abuse, neglect and a range of household dysfunctions such as witnessing domestic violence, growing up with substance abuse, mental illness, parental discord, or crime in a household. ACEs are strongly related to development and prevalence of a wide range of health problems, including substance abuse in adulthood. The ACEs survey was an eye opener for Shasta County proving what most of us suspected; families are struggling and children are not provided with tools they need to become successful adults thus feeding the generational cycle. Support and stand with CAPCC this April to unite and help make families stronger and learn about ways prevent and combat ACE’s “
Ways to stand united and show support;
Join us on March 26th at the Board of Supervisors Chambers (1450 Court Street, Redding) at 9:00 a.m. as we proclaim the month of April as Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month in Shasta County. Shasta CAPCC Board member Doctor Sean Dugan will be accepting that Proclamation. There will be additional Proclamations on April 2nd at 6:00 p.m.: City of Anderson, City of Redding or City of Shasta Lake all at the specific City Hall buildings.
Attend the Pinwheel Garden of Hope Planting Ceremony on April 3rd at noon at The Shasta CAPCC office lawn: 2280 Benton Drive, Redding Ca. Plant a pinwheel in the ground and make a stand: every child deserves to grow up free of abuse and neglect. The pinwheels reflect the bright future that all children deserve. The pinwheel is a positive emblem of the effect we can have when we work together to prevent child abuse. That day, individuals can also take home a FREE pinwheel garden that they can plant in front of their home or business.
Wear blue! You can show support by wearing the color blue at any prevention related events during the month of April but there is also a National Wear Blue for Kids day and that is April 5, 2019.
We encourage that you tag Shasta County Child Abuse Prevention Council on Facebook to spread awareness of the Pinwheel gardens and for #WearBlue4Kids.
Pit River Country 