HOULTON, Maine — April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and a number of public awareness campaigns are being planned in Aroostook County.
“Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time when we come together to identify, promote and discuss the prevention of child abuse before it begins,” explained Bonnie Dickison, community educator for Aroostook Council for Healthy Families. “Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, communities, or the larger society that, when present, mitigate or eliminate risk.”
Dickison explained that when these factors are present in families and communities, there tends to be an increase in the health and wellbeing of children and families. Protective factors help parents to find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress.
The Pinwheel for Prevention Campaign is a nationwide public awareness campaign for April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. This campaign is built around the symbol of the pinwheel. Pinwheels are a happy and uplifting symbol of childhood. The pinwheel conveys the message that every child deserves the chance to be raised in a healthy, safe, and nurturing environment. The Aroostook Council for Healthy Families thanks those who work to ensure children in local communities are healthy and safe. (File photo)
“The lack of protective factors results when communities have unmet needs in psychosocial and other concrete resources,” she said. “The presence of protective factors in a community have children who become healthier adults because they have built resilience and coping strategies for mitigating the adverse childhood experiences they experienced.”
According to Dickison, evidence has shown that the inclusion of protective factors in programs and communities are linked to lower incidences of child abuse and neglect.
The protective factors framework includes building nurturing and attachment through:
– Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development;
– Parental resilience;
– Social connections;
– Concrete supports for parents; and/or
– Social and emotional competence of children.
Some of the awareness events scheduled throughout the next couple of months include: pinwheel lapel pins worn by police officers in departments throughout Aroostook County; blue magnetic awareness ribbons displayed on cruisers throughout The County; a pinwheel garden on display again this year on the lawn by the Houlton Police and Fire departments; and a traveling pinwheel garden throughout central Aroostook County.
Additionally, a playgroup will be held at Millar Civic Center on Friday, April 14, at 10 a.m. Members of the Houlton Police Department will attend this event. Also, on Saturday, June 24, the second annual Strides 2 Strengthen 5K Fun Run/Walk will take place in Houlton.
To find out how to support the local Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council, contact Aroostook Council for Healthy Families at 532-1141 or 1-877-207-2301.
