April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

The Oskaloosa bandstand was bathed in blue light in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Blue light was provided by Musco.

by Martha Comfort

During April, the public will see pinwheel gardens on display throughout the area.  The kickoff to the month is the Pinwheel Display on the town square with the Bandstand being lit in blue.  There are hundreds of blue pinwheels lining the sidewalks on the square. “We are very thankful to MUSCO Lighting in providing this lighting display for the second year.  This is a unique display in the State, and we couldn’t have done it without MUSCO,” said Martha Comfort, Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Specialist.  The Bandstand will be lit blue until April 7th.  “Be sure and drive by to see this beautiful display of the Bandstand and pinwheels, ” said Martha.

But why the pinwheel?  In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the national symbol for child abuse prevention through Pinwheels for Prevention®. What research showed, and what our experiences since then have borne out, is that people respond to the pinwheel. By its very nature, the pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children.

Children are our future, and their early years have an enormous impact on their future health and success. Child abuse prevention is one result of a firm community commitment to supporting children and the families raising them.

We cannot prevent what we won’t talk about. We all care about the issue of child abuse, but we hear a lot more about the problem than we do about the solutions. Preventing child abuse means setting the stage for healthy, stable families who have the tools they need for nurturing their children.

In Mahaska County, two organizations work towards the prevention of child abuse: Community Partnerships for Protecting Children of Mahaska County and Mahaska Safe Kids.

Community Partnerships for Protecting Children (CPPC) is a community-based framework for child protection. Partnerships work to prevent child abuse, neglect, re-abuse, safely decrease the number of out-of-home placements, and promote timely reunification when children are placed in foster care. The long term focus of the Community Partnerships is to protect children by changing the culture to improve child welfare processes, practices, and policies. The CPPC meets on the first Tuesday of the month at noon at the Mahaska County Extension Office. Community members are welcome to join this group at any time.

Mahaska Safe Kids is is a volunteer-based organization focused on addressing the needs of the community that will aid in preventing child abuse. Mahaska Safe Kids provides support and resources to help families and the community to build skills that produce healthy family relationships. Mahaska Safe Kids is reorganizing and will be setting up regular meetings soon.

The responsibility for ending child abuse does not just lie with these two organizations. Every community must take up the responsibility to prevent child abuse. Over the next year, there will be opportunities for community members to participate in trainings and discussions that will empower individuals to help end child abuse. These trainings, sponsored by the Mahaska County CPPC and Mahaska Safe Kids are designed to inform and motivate community members to help end child abuse. After all, children deserve great childhoods, because our children are our future.