Hundreds Stand Up to Child Abuse
By: Kristen Kennedy
Updated: April 6, 2009
More than a thousand children across the South Plains have come forward with stories of abuse and neglect in the last year. And Saturday, hundreds of people in the Hub took a stand for those kids. Saturday at Miller Park about 200 people stood together for one hour, each one representing a child in the South Plains who has been helped by the Children's Advocacy Center. The center helps abused children and works hard within the community to make this very private issue, public. Organizers wanted this event to be a good visual representation of the number of children they work with, and a symbol of solidarity against keeping quiet about abuse.
"It gives them a visual to say 'that's a lot of kids.' I think that just does a lot more because it gives them that visual perception then just saying 'I'll donate money' because they can do that without donating their time. And I think this just brings it right to the front of their mind," says organizer Shalana Jacobi.
The South Plains ranks second in the state for the most confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect.
"It gives them a visual to say 'that's a lot of kids.' I think that just does a lot more because it gives them that visual perception then just saying 'I'll donate money' because they can do that without donating their time. And I think this just brings it right to the front of their mind," says organizer Shalana Jacobi.
The South Plains ranks second in the state for the most confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect.
