SUMMIT, NJ – The Summit Area YMCA is marking Child Abuse Prevention Month with Five Days of Action, April 22-26, 2019. Five Days of Action focuses on preventing child sexual abuse by sharing tips on how adults can prevent child sexual abuse.
During April and all year long, the Summit Area YMCA which includes the Berkeley Heights YMCA, Summit YMCA and The Learning Circle YMCA, encourages adults and organizations in the community to play a vital role in making Summit, Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Short Hills, Millburn, Gilette and Stirling safer places for children. This year’s Five Days of Action theme is “Know. See. Respond.” When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together, we can bring awareness to the issue of child sexual abuse in our communities and have important conversations around how we can all work together to prevent it from happening.
“Protecting children from sexual abuse must be the number one goal of every person who cares about the health and well-being of kids,” said Joyce Klimaski, The Learning Circle YMCA Executive Director. “Together, we can stand up to demand that children are protected and encourage adults to make it happen in our community. It takes all of us.”
Each day parents from The Learning Circle YMCA will be receiving various tips in relation to how to protect children from sexual abuse, how to communicate, support and believe in their children. A special quiz will be available as well via the 5 Days of Action website, which you can also pledge to protect and access here: https://www.fivedaysofaction.org/pledge. Packets of valuable information will be distributed, and staff at the facility will show their support of the cause by donning special 5 Days of Action t-shirts. On April 25, a local police officer will also visit The Learning Circle YMCA to speak to our children about stranger safety. Following this important discussion will also include staff reading stories to children about safety and stranger danger.
The Y’s cause is to nurture the potential of every child and youth. As part of our commitment to child safety, the Summit Area YMCA has partnered with the Darkness to Light organization to create awareness of and generate discussion around the issues of child sexual abuse and its prevention.
All children deserve the opportunity to grow up healthy and whole. Protecting them from abuse is an adult responsibility. We invite you to learn more about how you can become part of the solution in our community by attending a training at the Berkeley Heights YMCA.
Please join us for a training on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention.
DATE: April 24, 2019
TIME: 6:30PM
PLACE: BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA, 550 Springfield Ave, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
RSVP by April 22 to Tiffany Escott
908. 464. 8373 ext. 2012
tiffany.escott@thesay.org
The Summit Area YMCA and the YMCA Guardians for Child Protection, with support from YMCA of the USA, Darkness to Light, the Redwoods Group Foundation, and Praesidium have made materials available to help adults learn more about preventing child sexual abuse.
For more information about preventing child sexual abuse visit www.fivedaysofaction.org.
Materials are derived from YMCA of the USA’s “Know. See. Respond.” copyrighted in 2019.
• One in ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
• 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser.
• Approximately 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members.
• 60% of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone.
• False reports are rare. Research shows that only 4 to 8% of child sexual abuse reports are fabricated.
• You do not need to have proof that abuse is occurring to make a report, only reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion means that you have witnessed maltreatment or boundary violations, either in the child or adult, or both. Or, you have received a disclosure from a child about abuse, neglect, or boundary violations towards them.
• Child sexual abuse reports should be made to the police and/or state child protective services.
• Contact the Darkness to Light Helpline at 866-FOR-LIGHT or text LIGHT to 741741 to have questions answered by trained counselors at no charge.
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About the Summit Area YMCA
The Summit Area YMCA is one of the area’s leading 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. Founded in 1886, the Summit Area YMCA has a history steeped in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, income and background, has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Each year, we serve more than 10,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those with demonstrated need.
About Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.7 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.
About Redwoods Group Foundation
The Redwoods Group Foundation supports programs that can change the world and helps them reach more people than ever before, through funding and backbone support. We currently focus on child sexual abuse prevention, drowning prevention, and growing the field of social entrepreneurship. For more information, visit www.redwoodsgroup.com/about-us/redwoods-group-foundation.
About Praesidium
Praesidium specializes in preventing sexual abuse in organizations that serve youth and vulnerable adults. Over a period in excess of 25 years, the company has reviewed over 4,000 cases of abuse within organizations to determine the root causes of sexual abuse within organizational settings. Praesidium employs more than 40 staff, including licensed social workers, lawyers, psychologists, health care researchers, and other experts. The company has served over 5,000 clients with a broad range of products and services to aid organizations in preventing abuse, including online and instructor‐led trainings; organizational risk assessments; model policies and incident investigations. Having trained more than one million people online and hundreds of thousands in person, Praesidium is the largest and most comprehensive sexual abuse risk management firm globally.