April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. Please join the Counseling and Wellness Services Department today from noon to 3 p.m. in Sister Annie B’s Cafe to promote awareness by decorating a Cardboard Kid.
Markers, colored pencils, scissors, fabric scraps, colored paper and glue will be available for use. Students, faculty, and staff will be asked to display their Cardboard Kids in their spaces on campus for reveal day, April 4, and tag us on our social media. For commuter students, we will display their Cardboard Kids in the cafeteria if they would like us to, and we can do that reveal for them on April 4.
ChildSafe is San Antonio’s Child Advocacy Center, providing numerous evidenced based, trauma informed services to children and teens who have experienced abuse and/or neglect, “offering a safe, child-friendly environment where a multi-disciplinary team of law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, and medical and mental health services can share information and coordinate strategies sensitive to the needs of each child.”
Each year ChildSafe distributes Cardboard Kids in order to start the difficult conversations around child abuse. Cardboard Kids are more than two-foot-tall cardboard figures. They represent one of the thousands of children who are abused and neglected at the hands of adults in our community each year. They start the conversation, not only by creating a visual symbol for children to identify with, but also by providing valuable tips for caregivers on how to talk to their children about child abuse and neglect.
