“Not One More”
On Tuesday night, April 29, 2008, I had the opportunity to attend the Child Abuse Awareness Program in McMinnville. The program was held in honor of Child Abuse Awareness Month and was organized by District Attorney Lisa Zavagionnis, the Department of Children’s Services, and the Child Advocacy Center.
This meeting was very informative, very educational, and very, very eye opening. We were informed that last year, in Warren County alone, there were 325 cases of child abuse that were reported and substantiated, not to mention all of those that go unreported and unnoticed.
The theme of this formum was “Not One More.” We all need to do what we can to make sure that not one more story like little Cheyenne’s has to be told. Cheyenne was a 6 year old who lived her entire short life under what were apparently torturous conditions. Cheyenne is no longer with us, but through her story and the thousands of other stories just like hers, we can make a difference. The essence of the meeting was that we all most train ourselves to be more aware, to be more proactive, and to educate ourselves better about the signs and symptoms of child abuse and child neglect.
District Attorney General Zavagionnis and all the other panel members and organizers are to be commended for their hard work on this forum and for their committment to putting a stop to child abuse and neglect. We should all commit ourselves to doing the same. If we work together from the State House, to the Courthouse, to our own house, we can make a difference and save the lives of children.