a non profit 501(c)3
Because of you, more kids are being protected,
more adult survivors served!
NAASCA has a single purpose, to address issues related to childhood abuse and trauma including sexual assault, violent or physical abuse, emotional traumas and neglect .. and we do so from two specific perspectives
:
- educating the public, especially as related to getting society over the taboo of discussing childhood sexual abuse, presenting the facts that show child abuse to be a pandemic, worldwide problem that affects everyone
- offering hope for healing through numerous paths, providing many services to adult survivors of child abuse and information for anyone interested in the many issues involving prevention, intervention and recovery
Building a survivor community ...
because
together we can do what we cannot do alone
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Welcome to the April 2018 Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to NAASCA's newsletter mailing list!
Please encourage others to stay in touch too.
'Prevention' - this month's newsletter theme
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the US
- first declared by presidential proclamation in 1983
- a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse
April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the US
Significant Dates in April:
3rd is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) Day of Action
- a day to focus awareness on sexual violence prevention
- Use #SAAMDayOfAction to post on social media
- You can purchase an awareness shirt to wear on this day with proceeds going to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Click here to purchase your shirt.
- Event listings and other resources for this campaign are available at the official SAAM Day Webpage
4th is Childhelp National Day of Hope
- Everyone across the country is asked to make a life-long commitment to joining the fight to end child abuse and neglect.
- Lighting a 5 wick candle and observing a 5-minute silence represents the approximately 5 children who die every day as a result of abuse in the United States.
- Use #ChildhelpNationalDayOfHope to post on social media.
- Visit the Official National Day of Hope Webpage to learn more.
- The National Day of Hope Luncheon is on Wednesday April 25. This is an opportunity for Members of Congress and advocates to come together to raise awareness about the on-going epidemic of child abuse and neglect in America.
- Half the world lacks access to health care.
- All people should be able to realize their right to the highest possible level of health.#HealthForAll is the guiding vision of the World Health Organization, which supports countries in moving towards Universal Health Coverage.
- Find out more: World Health Day Campaign Webpage
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Child Abuse Prevention Month !!
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The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services study
Child Maltreatment 2015
estimated 683,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect and 1,670 children died as a result of abuse or neglect annually.
T
he majority of child abuse cases stemmed from situations and conditions that
can be
preventable
when community programs and systems are engaged and supportive.
- parental resilience
- nurturing and attachment
- social connections
- knowledge about parenting and child development
- social and emotional competence of children
- concrete supports for parent
Resources:
Prevent Child Abuse America has made a comprehensive campaign available for free download. The
2018 Child Abuse Prevention Toolkit
includes traditional and social media content and templates.
The Channing Bete Company has put together teaching tools, brochures, and other resources for parents, educators, or community members to purchase for use in planning a child abuse prevention month event or campaign. You can find a
listing of available materials here
.
The Department of Defense has joined the effort to protect America's children with a website with information specifically for military parents and military professionals to "
reinforce the message that all community members share responsibility for our children’s safety and well-being." You can find these
military information and resources here
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Check Out NAASCA's
Prevention and Intervention Page
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Here you will find news and information dedicated to helping the community become more engaged and committed to helping those currently suffering from child abuse and other related criminal activity. Whether you are an individual, a school, a church, a medical personnel, a therapist, or an organization there is a wealth of useful resources for you here.
There are many articles with information to ready yourself to be effective in child abuse prevention. Some of them include:
- facts and statistics about abuse and neglect
- risk factors for abuse and neglect
- signs to look for in children who are being abused
- how to talk to children about abuse as prevention
- how to help a child who has disclosed they have been abused
- understanding behavior of abusers and pedophiles and what to look for
- types of exploitation your child may be exposed to
- community safety tools and tips
- links to support and prevention organizations
- free videos and training materials
Also you will find many useful links for tools such as:
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How Can I Personally Help Prevent Child Abuse ?
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Prevent Child Abuse America
is a non-profit organization with a
mission to prevent the abuse and neglect of children with services focused on shaken baby syndrome prevention, sexual safety and child sexual abuse prevention, peer abuse and bullying prevention, and many more relevant issues. They have published a list of
ten ways to help prevent child abuse that are simple, every day actions that can make a big impact. Please visit their website for more ways to get involved and supports.
- Be a nurturing parent. Children need to know that they are special, loved and capable of following their dreams.
- Help a friend, neighbor or relative. Being a parent isn’t easy. Offer a helping hand take care of the children, so the parent(s) can rest or spend time together.
- Help yourself. When the big and little problems of your everyday life pile up to the point you feel overwhelmed and out of control – take time out. Don’t take it out on your kid.
- If your baby cries… It can be frustrating to hear your baby cry. Learn what to do if your baby won’t stop crying. Never shake a baby – shaking a child may result in severe injury or death.
- Get involved. Ask your community leaders, clergy, library and schools to develop services to meet the needs of healthy children and families.
- Help to develop parenting resources at your local library. Find out whether your local library has parenting resources, and if it does not, offer to help obtain some.
- Promote programs in school. Teaching children, parents and teachers prevention strategies can help to keep children safe.
- Monitor your child’s television, video, and internet viewing/usage. Excessively watching violent films, TV programs, and videos can harm young children.
- Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program. For information about volunteer opportunities, call 1.800.CHILDREN or contact your local Prevent Child Abuse America chapter.
- Report suspected abuse or neglect. If you have reason to believe a child has been or may be harmed, call your local department of children and family services or your local police department.
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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month !!
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CSA = Childhood Sexual Abuse
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Recently on
NAASCA's Public Facebook Group
, CEO Bill Murray posted a link for an article by Dani Bostik underlining the same issue Bill has been advocating through his #metooCSA campaign.
In her article,
How #MeToo is leaving child victims behind
, Ms. Bostik
discusses how
the focus of #MeToo has been on adult victims of workplace sexual misconduct while leaving out of the discussion child victims of sexual abuse and assault.
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Bill's message is simply this, Childhood sexual assaults and abuse are devastating! Let's use:
#metooCSA
to talk about childhood sexual abuse on all the social media platforms we engage in. By getting
this hashtag to trend, we can build on the 'MeToo' movement that leaves out those abused in their youth.
Whether you are sharing your personal story of childhood sexual abuse, or sharing statistics, resources, articles, memes, and videos, Let's work together to get the public talking about this problem.
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Calling all Canadians and Americans,
we Need YOU for our Ambassador Program !!
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Music and Art, Prevention and Healing
The Fiona Project !!
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The Fiona Project
is a non-profit music movement dedicated to child sexual abuse prevention and survivor support. Through music videos and concert series the project goal is to raise $1 million dollars for child sexual abuse prevention and healing.
Through the concert events and the hashtag
#UndoTheTaboo,
the Fiona Project educates communities and raises support for programs and services provided to survivors through their charity partners.
HelpforSurvivors.org
website has been newly launched by The Fiona Project and provides both urgent and long term resources for child sexual abuse survivors, including:
- Hotline numbers
- Links for legal help for child sexual abuse
- List of books recommended by child sexual abuse survivors
- A closed Facebook group: Child Sexual Abuse Survivors THRIVE Network for child sexual abuse survivors to gather, discuss and share resources, experience and hope and keep anonymity if they choose
- A YouTube playlist of songs to help survivors grieve, heal and ultimately reclaim their power.
- Free child sexual abuse Survivors THRIVE e-zine
If you have art, music or poetry that you created related to your abuse or healing, The Fiona Project is inviting you to share your
creative works for publication
on the Survivors Speak page.
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Have You Participated in NAASCA's Radio Show Lately ?
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Live shows air
8 PM EST / 5 PM PAC
Listen-in on Sunday for 'Community Matters,' and Monday to Friday for 'Stop Child Abuse Now' (SCAN). Topics include public safety, child abuse prevention and intervention, and recovery as a survivor of child abuse.
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Participate Via Phone !
Your voice matters to us and to those listening! We encourage ALL of our NAASCA Members to participate during the live shows with questions and comments
OR
you can also just listen-in by phone. The number to call is:
(
646) 595-2118
Listen Online !
You can also listen online to live shows or past episodes in our archive at the Blogtalk Radio website. Just create a free account with Blogtalk Radio and "follow" the SCAN show.
Participate Via Chatroom !
During live shows scroll down the page under the show description while listening to find the chatroom where where you can participate via chat.
(
Note: You must have first created a free Blogtalk account to write in the chat room.
)
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A Note from Our Founder and CEO:
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Healing from child abuse and trauma can be a very lonely journey .. but you'll never be alone again, a day at a time, if you don't want to be !!
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NAASCA belongs to no other group and receives no outside funding. We're self-supporting through our own members' voluntary contributions.
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Please consider a one time
or recurring donation
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Thanking you for all you do in the fight against child abuse and trauma and welcoming you to engage with your NAASCA family, I remain, as always,
Yours in service,
Bill Murray
, Founder and CEO
National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse.
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