Another Tool in Abuse Prevention – Community
I stumbled upon an article yesterday that I quickly read, but then found myself thinking about again later. I wanted to share it with you because the topic hints at a much larger issue when it comes to child abuse prevention, and maybe even the situation with youth mental health. Here’s the link:
Be The Community Families Need to Succeed
The message is simple. The article talks about how, in Kentucky, everyone who suspects child abuse or neglect must report it. Beyond that, though, Valerie Frost reminds us that even if there is no finding of abuse, our duty to the families in our community isn’t finished. There are still many things we can do to help families achieve success and provide a safe, supportive environment for children.
The suggestions for helping parents are good, but I would like to discuss this idea further in relation to children. I’m going to try to do that without sounding like an old man, so I’ll resist the urge to talk about how things were “back in my day”. What we do know, however, is that children who are abused often have nowhere to turn. We encourage kids to share without thinking about who they can share with. A kid being abused at home is not going to tell their parents. Kids being abused elsewhere, whose single parent is working two jobs and struggling to keep their family fed and sheltered, aren’t going to tell their parents. So, who can they tell?
This is where the community comes in. Kids with strong connections to safe adults are less likely to be targeted and more likely to tell if they are. LGBTQ kids are less likely to struggle with suicidal ideation when they have adults who accept them as they are. Kids dealing with anxiety and depression have better outcomes when they have safe adults to talk through their emotions with, who can support them through difficult times. I’ve discussed at length the importance of strong relationships with parents as the best preventive measure we have for keeping children safe and supported. I’ve also discussed, on my other site, the importance of work-life balance and inclusivity in the workplace for parents. That’s what it takes to be a community that supports families’ needs to succeed.
This is where my brain started to go when thinking about the role that the community plays in abuse prevention and youth mental health. It then proceeds to consider the lack of community that I have often read about—the lack of close friendships among adults. Political divisions are sown daily in the media and state legislatures across the country. The lack of infrastructure for childcare, healthcare, and public education, as well as the factors that prevent parents from accessing better jobs, such as inadequate public transit and limited remote work opportunities. We could also talk about the number of children growing up without parents due to our fascination with incarceration, as opposed to providing addiction and mental health treatment.
If you look around at what is happening in the US right now, we have become a nation run by people who believe that we have no obligation to one another. Science says that it is a path to destruction. That we do need each other. We need our families, friends, and communities to come together and work in unity. We need children to have safe, close relationships with adults. Sadly, we are creating a society where there are no safe adults for kids, and then blaming everything else for their poor mental health situation. I’m not saying social media or the news has no impact on kids, but we used to live in a society where kids could be more resilient because there was a community that supported them.
Who supports them now?
