Tag Archives: YMCA
Y program helps address childhood sexual abuse
Woburn, MA – The statistics are startling. Approximately 20 percent of all victims of sexual abuse are under age 8. One in five children are sexually solicited while on the Internet, and 30-40 percent of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members. There are an estimated 39 million survivors of sexual abuse living in the U.S. today. The North Suburban YMCA has partnered with Darkness to Light, a nationally acclaimed non-profit, to bring its award-winning prevention program, Stewards of Children, to Woburn, …
Local Firefighters in Chapel Hill, NC Learn Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
Gigi Krachenfels Reporting CHAPEL HILL – Firefighters from the Chapel Hill Fire Department are now being trained in the prevention of child sexual abuse. Seventy members of the fire department attended the Darkness to Light (D2L) Stewards of Children Workshop, held by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA. The workshop instructs participants how to recognize, respond, and prevent child sexual abuse. D2L Prevention Specialist Tricia Smar says working with the fire department was a great way to build awareness. “They’re focused on prevention, they’re focused on injury prevention and in turning intention …
State College – It’s time to become more aware!
STATE COLLEGE — It’s time to become more aware, Centre County. On the heels of the Freeh report, advocates for children say it’s clear that a change needs to take place. According to Cameron Frantz, director of community outreach for the Centre County YMCA, people need to start talking — now. “Child sex abuse is such a taboo topic,” Frantz said. “But it’s an epidemic. By the time children are 18, one in four boys will be abused and one in six girls will be …
Abuse scandals spur positive change
Before Jerry Sandusky grabbed headlines with allegations he’d sexually abused boys while Penn State University officials looked the other way, there were the headlines about pediatrician Earl Bradley, and questions about why years of complaints never revealed his sexual abuse of his patients. They weren’t the only examples Delawareans have seen in which people trusted to care for children were found to have abused them. There were the allegations of decades of abuse by priests in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. Teachers too showed up …
Time to talk about sex abuse. Recent high-profile cases raise awareness of what adults can do to help protect kids.
Sometime in 2009, a grand jury in Pennsylvania quietly began investigating child sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky after a teen boy came forward to authorities and alleged the retired Penn State football coach touched him inappropriately over a four-year period. Later that same year in Delaware, Lewes pediatrician Earl Bradley was arrested on charges he sexually assaulted more than 100 patients, mostly girls younger than 3. Sandusky’s recent conviction on more than four dozen child sex abuse charges was a painful bookend to Bradley’s …
YMCA and State’s Attorney partner to educate 43,000 residents in Prince George’s County
This week, the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington and Prince George’s County State Attorney Angela Alsobrooks announced a new partnership for prevention using Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children to educate 43,000 residents in MD. This partnership is a vital step towards building a safer community. “For too long, our children have been told not to talk about the abuse they have suffered, to keep it a secret because it is ugly,” State’s Attorney Alsobrooks said. “Our partnership with the YMCA and Darkness to Light will …
In Effort to Prevent Childhood Sexual Abuse, Stoughton Employees Taking Specialized Training
In partnership with the Old Colony YMCA, dozens of Stoughton, MA town employees and community members have been receiving training in the Darkness to Light Childhood Sexual Abuse Prevention Program. “Child sexual abuse is not a Y problem, or a school problem, or a church problem or a Penn State problem: it is a community problem, something which will only be mitigated by the education of adults making informed choices for children,” said Susan Komisar Hausman, a Darkness to Light facilitator since 2006. “Nobody understands better than …
YMCA Partnering in Prevention Steering Committee to host National Webinar
Last week 18 YMCA CEOs, The Redwoods Group Foundation fellows, and Darkness to Light staff members came together for our quarterly Partnering in Prevention Steering Committee meeting. The group spent a full day discussing the D2L and YMCAs partnership, and there was a lot of excitement around the growth of this important work. There are now 56 YMCAs actively engaged in the D2L program and another 100 + YMCAs that are exploring the program. On Wednesday, June 6th the Partnering in Prevention Steering Committee will …
Foothills YMCA makes first step toward Partner
If you read our blog on a regular basis you surely have seen all of the amazing prevention work happening with the different YMCAs across the country. Recently we had the opportunity to speak with the South Carolina Y Alliance during their retreat. What a great group of people! Soon after our time with them, we received word that the South Carolina Y Alliance wanted not only to seek Partner in Prevention status, but also be a key player in D2L’s prevention work in South Carolina! Today the Foothills YMCA in Seneca, …
Greater Tri-Valley Y Leading Child Abuse Prevention Effort
April is National Child Abuse Prevention month, and this month as well as throughout the year, the YMCA of Greater Tri-Valley encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making our communities safe. “April is a time to celebrate the important role that communities play in protecting children,” said Maryalice Golden, Marketing Manager. “Everyone’s participation is critical.” The Tri-Valley Y is in a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Redwoods Group, and Darkness to Light to provide tools …
