NEWS RELEASE
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and GRADD’s Community Collaboration for Children (CCC) and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health & Family Services’ Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) invite you to help raise awareness.
CCC and DCBS are sponsoring “The Stand Against Child Abuse” on Thursday, April 14, from 4 to 6 p.m. on the sidewalks in front of the former Texas Gas building (3800 block of Frederica Street, Owensboro).
Several activities for children are planned, including a bounce house, face painting, balloons, bubbles, a coloring station, and snow cones.
There will also be door prizes and giveaways, as well as special appearances by members of the Kentucky Mavericks basketball team and “Blizzard,” the mascot of the Evansville Icemen hockey team.
Many local businesses along Frederica Street—from Veterans Boulevard downtown to Martin Luther King Jr. Loop in southern Owensboro—will be displaying blue pinwheels and messages of support on their marquees/signs.
This annual event helps bring attention to an issue that, unfortunately, continues to plague our nation, state, and local communities.
According to the most recent DCBS statistics, Kentucky Child Protective Services investigated 2,737 allegations of abuse/neglect of minors within Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster counties in 2014—including 996 cases which were substantiated.
To report an incident of suspected abuse/neglect, please call the Kentucky Child Protection Hotline at 1-877-597-2331 or your local law enforcement agency.
Citizens of all ages are invited to attend “The Stand,” and there is no registration required to participate.
For more information, please contact Kristy Clark, CCC Coordinator (270-926-4433) or Michelle Baize, DCBS Protection Specialist (270-687-7491).