Emerging with Hope and Resilience
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO EACH OF YOU AND TO OUR PARTNER PROFESSIONALS FOR A TRULY MEANINGFUL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH.
EMERGING WITH HOPE AND RESILIENCE
Learning From Our Informative April Partner Talks
Our April Partner Talks were a resounding success, thanks to our wonderful partners. We were joined by three knowledgeable professionals who generously answered the questions of our audience and shared their unique expertise with us.
Dr. Suzanne Giraudo, psychologist and Clinical Director at the Kalmonovitz Child Development Center at CPMC, talked about children’s fears and mental health. Giraudo shared information about how the pandemic has impacted children’s mental health and the increased risk of abuse kids have been subjected to over the past two years, and provided advice about how caregivers can best support children. You can read the PIPSpeak here.
Molly Jardiniano, Safety Awareness Trainer and Parental Support Line Supervisor, offered advice for parents. She noted how difficult it has been for children to go back to a “normal” school schedule after so much time away and so many changes during the Covid years. Jardiniano encouraged parents to work with kids to set up plans that they can follow through on. She reminded us that what is most important is connecting with your child. You can read the PIPSpeak here.
Monica Malmquist, Educator and English Language Learners Specialist, talked with us about amplifying children’s voices and providing them with tools to stay safe. She mentioned how well group activities can work to get kids talking openly with one another, and walked us through filling out a Network of Support from our free downloadable activity sheets in order to identify the adults that kids can trust to speak to if they need to talk. Read the PIPSpeak here!
It’s not too late to ask our Partner Professionals a question! We will continue to share out Q&A on our social media channels as we receive your questions. So ask now, and make sure you are following us online to see the answers!
A LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDERS
Patty Shimek and Kathy Baxter Share the PIP Story
Dear Partner,
Thank you so much for a meaningful Child Abuse Prevention Month. We, the founders of Partners in Prevention, met years ago due to our shared passion for ensuring a safe and healthy start for kids. Kathy was a social worker and Patty was a businessperson and volunteer. 25 years later, we felt that our child abuse prevention efforts—professional and volunteer—were unfinished. There was much that needed to be done, and we knew that it could be accomplished through grassroots, community-based efforts. A small group of like-minded friends and associates shared our belief in this vision.
This community support convinced us to co-found an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to child abuse awareness, prevention education and advocacy for a safe childhood: Partners in Prevention.
The need is even greater now than when we began Partners in Prevention. As we enter the third year of pandemic-related uncertainty and all of its attendant questions—including whether, when and how to gather for family celebrations, how to deal with unsettling starts and stops for in-person school, and how to safely be with friends and play—we must make sure that children are safe and that their voices are heard. Children need to know we are listening and that there is a plan to keep them safe. It’s upsetting to learn from colleagues working in schools and children’s centers that children’s anxiety can prevent them from even leaving their parents side to enter another room. It’s heartbreaking to hear that children ask, “Who will take care of me if my parents die?”
Through resilience and creativity, we are all finding new ways to learn and work. This gives us hope for the future. We need to continue our work together, all of us, to find ways to ensure the safety of all children and to bring joy and happiness into their childhood. This April, we did just that by bringing in our Partner Professionals to answer your questions about how to keep kids safe and healthy during these trying times.
Thank you for your work in helping to keep childhood and children safe.
Patty and Kathy
Donate Today to Help Us Prevent Abuse
INTRODUCING OUR NEW SURVIVORSHIP SERIES
Our New PIPSpeak Series Centers Survivors of Abuse
Look out for our new PIPSpeak Survivorship Series, launching soon. In this important series, we will share the stories of survivors of abuse. We will provide information on legal measures being taken against perpetrators, and will highlight the brave people who step forward to report abuse. Unfortunately, far too often, adults and mandated reporters fail in their duty to report and the abuse goes on. Our series will shed light not only on those people who helped, but also on those who should have helped to prevent abuse but did not. By sharing these stories, we hope to lift up survivors and to increase pressure on mandated reporters and all adults to protect kids from abuse.
Subscribe to Our PIPSpeaks
KEEP UP WITH US ONLINE!
Learn About Keeping Kids Safe on Our Social Channels
Make sure to follow us on our social channels! We share new child abuse prevention resources and activities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram every week, including Q&A! And don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing lists to receive all of our PIPSpeaks and Newsletters!
