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Swain County Department of Social Services lines driveway with blue pinwheels for Child Abuse Awareness month.
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Cartoons are on the television and dinner in the oven. A familiar, loving voice calls “Dinner’s ready,” as the family gathers around the table. Afterwards, the family goes outside to play catch.
This sounds a lot like the cliche perfect family picture painted in our minds, and even the reality of some of our childhoods, but some children don’t have loving parent figures or even food on the table.
April is now proclaimed as Child Abuse Awareness Month in North Carolina, with a mission to end abuse and neglect, and not stop until every child has a loving, safe home environment.
There were 117,268 children investigated for reports of possible abuse and neglect in North Carolina from July 2019 to June 2020, according to statistics available at preventchildabusenc.org. Abuse is not just physical, it can be mental, verbal, sexual, and/or withholding basic human needs like food or hygiene.
Children who experience abuse develop toxic levels of stress. Recurring, high levels of stress actually damage the development of a child’s brain, the area that controls the fight-or-flight survival mechanism overdevelops, while areas that control emotion, cognitive thinking and an understanding of risk and consequence are stunted, according to Prevent Child Abuse NC’s website.
On April 1, 2022, Swain County Department of Social Services all wore blue to kick off Child Abuse Awareness Month and decorated the campus with pinwheels and balloons to bring awareness to the cause.
“Some staff drew with chalk on our driveway stating: 'No excuse for child abuse,”'Swain DSS Director Bree Clawson said by email. “We will be displaying the pinwheels all month.”
All DSS agencies across the state are encouraged to participate.
“As always, if the community has questions about child abuse, neglect or dependency they are encouraged to contact Swain DSS during normal business hours. Everyone is a mandated reporter. See it, say it,” Clawson said.
You can contact Swain County DSS at (828) 488-6921, or if you witness or suspect abuse after normal business hours, Swain DSS advises you to call Swain Dispatch at (828) 488-9832, (828) 488-6021, or 911 and let dispatch know you need to speak to the social worker on call.