Baltimore Child Abuse CenterMARCH 2019 NEWSLETTER:
APRIL IS CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
Prevent Child Abuse Every DayDear Friends, Next month is Child Abuse Prevention month, but for our staff, every single day is dedicated to preventing abuse and helping children heal from it. Last month alone, we helped over 200 children. While we strive for our community and our supporters to take steps to prevent child abuse all year long, I urge you to take the month of April to reeducate yourself and your community on the importance of recognizing and reporting child abuse for the entire coming year. We
all have a responsibility to protect our children by reporting any suspected abuse. Beyond preventing child abuse, we should also take a pro-active and trauma-informed approach to help survivors of abuse. This type of approach minimizes additional trauma by responding to a child in a way that will help rebuild a sense of control over their own lives. Beware of asking survivors “what is wrong with you?” and instead ask “what happened to you?”. Trauma-informed approaches can put a survivor on a path of healing sooner. Our prevention work doesn’t end when April ends. Be sure to join us at our annual Be A Hero event, May 10, 2019 at the Hippodrome Theatre. Click here to buy tickets before it sells out. This year’s event features Olympic Gold Medalist Aly Raisman, who will speak on her life as a survivor. We hope to see you there and that her words, and the work of BCAC, will be with you not just this coming month, but all year long!
Adam Rosenberg, Executive Director
Get Your Tickets to Be A Hero: An Evening with Aly
Be there when Aly takes the stage and then stay for dessert and dancing at our after party! Your support helps us help our most vulnerable children—thank you. Get your tickets today!
BCAC Day of Service: Saturday, April 6!
In honor of National Volunteer Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, come spend a few hours onsite with BCAC Saturday, April 6 from 10am to 3pm and help make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable children. Projects include facilities improvements & arts and crafts. To RSVP: Contact Nicole at nreed@bcaci.org or 443-872-2114. Please help us spread the word by sharing this event on Facebook!
Meal sponsor: Provide a kid-friendly dinner for our April 28th support group! Craft supplies: Seeking Elmer’s glue bottles, hot glue gun glue sticks, decorative duct tape, decorative regular tape, decorative paper, kraft paper, rubber bands, 6" wooden dowels, ribbon or string, bags of balloons, large wooden beads, plastic Easter eggs, small bells, bottles of washable paints, 8x11 art canvases, and paint brushes. Contact Nicole at nreed@bcaci.org or 443-872-2114.
Focus on Mental Health: Helping Children & Families HealBy Julia KnachBCAC offers on-site therapy for children and families that have experienced a traumatic event/incident. The mental health team also treats missing youth that come in through our partnership with the city police. Therapy is done by licensed professionals with specific training in trauma informed care. BCAC’s mental health team uses a variety of approaches to best serve the individuals that
come through the doors. Some of these approaches include play therapy, expressive therapies, EMDR, CFTSI and TF-CBT. BCAC’s therapy department attempts to be as interactive for the children and families as possible, letting the families lead the healing process. The hallway inviting individuals into the therapy wing has an obstacle course on the floor and white boards on the walls so that children and families can be interactive at every step of the way. Every child who experiences a traumatic event can heal, and should be given the opportunity to make meaning out of their life experiences. Children are given the opportunity to play through their wounds and heal at their own pace. Parents and families are supported in the process and encouraged to engage in their own
treatment or their child’s treatment.
BCAC is a nonprofit subsidiary of LifeBridge Health
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