October is Child Abuse Prevention Month – It Takes a Village to Keep Kids Safe!
On October 1st, Highland Shores Children’s Aid and The Children’s Foundation in partnership with CASs across the province and the Ontario Association of CASs (OACAS) will launch the 25th annual Child Abuse Prevention Month campaign. The goal of the campaign to raise awareness about the role that everybody in the community plays in keeping kids safe, and the importance of calling Children’s Aid with concerns about the safety or well-being of a child or youth.
One of the key aims of the CAPM campaign is to address the myth that calling a Children’s Aid Society will lead to the separation of a child from their family. “Many people don’t realize that in 97% of investigations that CASs do, children remain in the home while we work with families who may be struggling with issues such as addiction, unemployment, poverty, domestic violence or mental health challenges”, says Mark Kartusch, Executive Director of Highland Shores. “The Purple Ribbon Campaign helps us to raise awareness about how to identify child abuse or neglect, but also provides people with more insight about how a call to Highland Shores actually helps children and families.”
We are excited to be partnering with our local school boards again this year to get these messages out to teachers, students and parents. New Dress Purple Classroom Resources have been developed to assist teachers to talk about child safety and well-being and to help raise awareness among children about how to ask for help from adults in the community. Community partners and professionals are key in protecting the rights of children and youth and in helping families who may need support to keep their children safe.
Dress Purple Day – October 24th
As part of the Child Abuse Prevention Month campaign, communities, Boards of Education, and schools across Ontario will Dress in Purple on Tuesday, October 24th to collectively speak up and share the message that child abuse and neglect can be prevented and that help is available.
You Can Support the CAPM/Dress Purple Day campaigns by:
- Participating in the social media campaign. Hashtags include #IBREAKtheSilence and #SpeakUp4Kids.
- Putting up a Dress Purple Day poster in your workplace (see below).
- Dress Purple on Tuesday, October 24th. You can purchase a purple t-shirt by contacting The Children’s Foundation at 613-962-9292.
- Attend a “Go Purple” hockey game in Trenton, Picton, Wellington, Cobourg or Port Hope. Go to the home page of www.highlandshorescas.com for game dates/times.
- Learn more about the signs of child abuse or neglect by visiting www.highlandshorescas.com and clicking on the “Report” button.
