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.
For more of this story, written by Ana B. Ibarra, go to http://www.mercedsunstar.com/n...1.html#storylink=cpy]
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