Merced group, churches team to shed light on child abuse

Local groups are working together to spread the word on preventing child mistreatment and promoting well-being in keeping with Child Abuse Awareness Month in April.

ACE Overcomers, a program that aims to help teens and adults overcome the effects of adverse childhood experiences, has teamed with several churches to shed light on the issue.

Life-size blue silhouettes, representing the life journey of those affected by child abuse, can be found at Merced City Hall, Gateway Community Church, Creekside Evangelical Church, First Baptist Church and Yosemite Church, among other locations.

Dave Lockridge, executive director of ACE Overcomers, explained that each silhouette tells a victim’s story. The goal, he said, is to create awareness by sharing these stories with the public and to create consciousness about the nature and extent of child abuse.

Abuse can be categorized as emotional, physical and sexual, and it can be manifested in the form of neglect, including emotional and medical neglect.

According to information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 679,000 children in the United States were victims of mistreatment in 2013. Self-reported data showed that about 1 in 10 children and youths experienced at least one form of child abuse in the past year. It is estimated that 1,400 children in the country die each year as a result of abuse and neglect.

Merced County’s Child Welfare Services reported that in 2014 there were ongoing cases of child abuse or neglect for 1,219 children. In addition to the ongoing cases, the department received an additional 2,371 allegations of abuse or neglect. Because there is often more than one child in a family, Child Welfare Services had face-to-face contact with 4,821 children during investigations. Department officials said allegations were substantiated for 615 children.

Every example of child abuse, Lockridge said, can lead to physical and emotional problems in adult life. A difficult childhood, for example, can result in poor self-image, nervousness, anxiety and depression. Child abuse also has been linked to chronic diseases, impaired brain development, obesity and other medical conditions.

The Central Valley is a hotspot for childhood trauma, especially because of the financial upheaval that creates stress in many families, Lockridge said. When parents lose jobs, they feel pressured and this tension can be passed along to children.

“The stress that mom and dad are under can directly affect a child’s school performance, attention span and health,” he said.

ACE Overcomers teamed with churches because of their role in the community. When people are in trouble, their church is one of the first places they turn, Lockridge said.

Several of these churches will participate in Blue Sunday, a child abuse awareness campaign in which churches around the nation take time during their service to pray for victims of child abuse.

ACE Overcomers is also working to help educate church leaders on the effects of child abuse and on ways they can help make a difference.

This is the first year Merced will participate in the Blue Sunday initiative. Lockridge said this year will serve as a trial run. He hopes that in the future, he can help organize fundraising events to give back to groups that work with abused children.

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Merced group, churches team to shed light on child abuse."