April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and there’s a garden of blue pinwheels blooming in front of Child & Family Services on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.
Each pinwheel represents 20 calls in Erie County where child abuse was found in 2019*. That is nearly 2,800 children struggling because the adults in their life could not protect them. It is also before the pandemic started and many children stopped seeing professionals in our community who must report suspected abuse, such as teachers and doctors.
This April, we are calling on the entire community to join us to stand up for children.
If you suspect child abuse or neglect, call (800)-342-3720 to report it.
When we work together, we can help children like eight year old Tim and ten year old Mia** who were left alone to feed and care for themselves. At times, their mom would agree to let them stay with their grandmother, but once no one was monitoring, mom would take her children back. Grandma spoke little English. Would she be able to navigate the courts, schools and medical needs of the children? Our case worker was able to get to know her and advocate for her. Now, the children have a home with their grandmother, who can be there for them consistently.
Prevention of child abuse and neglect requires all of us to be committed to uplifting the smallest voices.
*Based on New York State’s Monitoring and Analysis Profile for Erie County for 2019. **Names and ages of the children changed to protect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.