Click to Escape
Donate Now

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: What you need to know?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kristine Scott
Phone: (708) 794-2140 ext. 311
Email: kris.s@anewdv.org

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: What you need to know?

Homewood, Illinois (April 13, 2022) April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Anew:
Building Beyond Violence and Abuse recognizes the importance of families and communities
working together to prevent child abuse. Through education and outreach our agency works to
educate kids about healthy relationships, family violence and Teen Dating Violence. It is our belief
that healthy families create healthy communities.


Child abuse affects children across socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, and geography.
According to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Illinois, today there will be 222 reports of abuse in
Illinois and one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This would equal
293,319 children in Illinois. Increasingly, children are being affected by violence on television, in
video games, social media, music within their homes, and in the communities. We may want to
believe young children are not affected because they cannot fully understand or lack the vocabulary
to talk about violent events that happen around them. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Such exposure can
have lasting effects on emotional, social, and physical development, and can impact children
throughout their lives.


Anew has been a Safe from the Start agency for more than 14 years. Safe from the Start is funded
by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) dedicated to addressing and reducing
trauma of exposure to violence in children from birth to five years. Anew provides counseling
services free of charge and available in English and Spanish, for children and their families. We
focus on the child’s exposure to trauma through specialized therapeutic techniques. For more
information or to make an appointment for yourself or your child, contact Safe from the Start at
(708) 798-7737.

 
Anew: Building Beyond Violence and Abuse for more than 40 years has provided comprehensive,
coordinated services to families in which domestic violence exists without imposing any one
solution. We offer an array of services that includes a 24-hour bilingual hotline, emergency shelter,
counseling, court advocacy, housing support, and community education and training. For more
information about our services visit http://www.anewdv.org.

###

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A Letter from Kris Scott, CEO

On behalf of the staff and board of directors of Anew: Building Beyond Violence and Abuse, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of Shaneiqua Pugh, her seven children, and all those impacted by Sunday’s mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed a devastating number of lives lost to domestic violence—individuals killed at the hands of intimate partners. Among them are Dr. Cerina Fairfax, wife of Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax; Nancy Metayer Bowen, Vice Mayor of Coral Springs, Florida; Pastor Tammy McCollum of Charlotte, North Carolina; Myneika Scott of Grovetown, Georgia; and Davonta Curtis of Chicago, Illinois. These names represent just a fraction of the lives lost. Too many stories go untold, and too many families are left grieving.

As these tragedies continue to unfold, I am reminded of the urgency of our work. Domestic violence does not discriminate—it affects individuals across all communities, backgrounds, and identities. In recent weeks, there has been heightened visibility around the murders of Black women.

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, 45.1% of Black women have experienced domestic violence, and more than half of Black female homicides are connected to intimate partner violence.

At Anew, we see the impact of this violence every day—and we also see the possibility for change. We provide comprehensive, wraparound services to survivors, while also investing in prevention efforts that address the root causes of abuse.

We believe accountability is essential. Through our Partner Abuse Intervention Program, we work with individuals who have used violence, helping them take responsibility for their actions while building the skills needed to create nonviolent, healthy relationships.

We also believe prevention begins early. Through our Community Education and Prevention Program, we are equipping young people—from pre-K through high school—with the knowledge and tools to build safe, respectful relationships and break cycles of harm before they begin.

This moment calls for more than awareness—it calls for action. Each of us has a role to play in creating safer communities, supporting survivors, and holding systems accountable. Everyone deserves to live a life free from abuse. I remain committed to a future where that is not an aspiration, but a reality.

 

Learn More and Purchase Tickets Today!