Invisible Youth Network
The Invisible Youth Network is an organization that is trying to reach the estimated 1.5 homeless children in America, with a focus on those who are runaways and victims of child abuse. Recently, the director of their Department of Child Abuse Services, Wayneho Kam, sent me an email asking if I could try to help them get the word out about what they are doing.
As this site and the network I created out of this site is more geared towards adult survivors, I wasn’t real sure of whether I could help them out much, but after I got some more information on what they are planning, and hoping that adult survivors might consider, I thought it couldn’t hurt to mention it to this audience. To quote Wayneho:
Part of our organization focuses on the recovery process and we recognize that such recovery may sometimes carry over to adulthood. The main purpose of a collaboration, however, is to expand our audience base and spread awareness about this very important issue…. we hope that adult survivors will join our movement and be willing to help kids who are going through the ordeal that they once had encountered. We are trying to establish chapters in high schools and universities so that students can also get involved in assisting abused victims and advocating for its prevention. An easy way to approach this is through much needed volunteers who can enact departmental programs in their own communities (under the umbrella of our organization) or at the very least, get the word out about our efforts.
So, if you live in a community where there is a lack of resources for child abuse victims, or have connections with local school or other youth organizations, and want to see what you can do to help out, you might consider contacting IYN and see about starting up a local chapter. We all know there are lots of kids dealing with the same things we have been, and that the earlier you can start the healing process, the better! If you do work with IYN, let me know and I’ll be glad to help spread the word about your efforts and how they are going!
