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April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention month in Centre

BELLEFONTE -- April is a month jam-packed with awareness efforts across Centre County concerning abuse of children and adults of all backgrounds.

During this week's Centre County Commissioner's meeting, the board welcomed multiple representatives from organizations across the county who highlighted a different aspect of their organizations and how they contribute to ongoing efforts as a whole.

Leah Raker, Administrator of Children and Youth Services, began by thanking the commissioners for inviting them all to bring awareness to this topic, "(This) subject is very near and dear to our hearts, and impacts our most vulnerable population."

According to Raker, in 2022 CYS investigated approximately 245 allegations of child abuse and neglect, as well as over 900 referrals of general protective services concerns.

"Those numbers are a lot, that's a lot of kids. But that also tells us that the work that our providers are doing and that we're doing in terms of prevention and awareness is working. We are getting those children brought to the attention of our agency," said Raker.

"County government is full of agencies that are below the surface, yours is one of those. The work you do is very important. We need you -- our children, some of our most vulnerable population -- they need you, too. The more eyes on this subject, the better," said Commissioner Steven Dershem.

Dawn McKee, Special Projects Coordinator/Consultant for Centre Safe, introduced the Better Together Collaboration.

The Better Together Collaboration includes organizations such as Centre Safe, Children and Youth Services, Youth Service Bureau, Children's Advocacy Center of Centre County, Mount Nittany Health and the YMCA of Centre County.

The Better Together Collaboration has been meeting monthly for close to four years to raise awareness in Centre County for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.

"Our goal is to help people understand in our community what services and resources are available for them if they, or a loved one, is experiencing sexual assault, domestic violence or child abuse," said McKee.

The theme this year for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention month is "drawing connections."

"Sexual assault, at its core, is a devastating abuse of power. One that affects people of every age, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, socioeconomic background and religion. It can affect anybody at any time," said McKee. "It's the responsibility of each of us to stand up and speak out against it. Not only to improve the laws and services available to survivors, but to also change the culture and attitudes that allow sexual assault to proliferate."

Centre Safe, formerly known as the Centre County Women's Resource Center, is a non-profit organization located in State College whose mission is to empower survivors of sexual or domestic violence and work towards the elimination of such violence.

"This is our 10th year of operation with the Children's Advocacy Center. We have accepted over 2,800 cases of child abuse in that time. We are really charting to have about 3,000 kids that have come through our doors by the end of the year," said Diana McWilliams, Executive Director of Mt. Nittany's Children's Advocacy Center. "It's a hard number but it's really important we exist."

They serve Mifflin, Huntington, Clinton and Centre counties.

One of the highlights Jennifer Peneck, Executive Director of Centre Safe, spoke about was the importance of Centre Safe's 24-hour hotline.

"There are people who might not be comfortable telling their family and friends something is going on or that they've experienced something. Centre Safe has a free and confidential hotline," said Peneck.

The phone number, 1-877-234-5050, is a toll-free number for anyone who wants to get in touch with a trained counselor and advocate for their needs.

Over the phone, these individuals are trained to help with situations such as:

-- Counseling, including giving information on coping skills and grounding techniques.

-- Planning for ways to stay as safe as possible.

-- Referring an individual to local service agencies to help get needed resources such as housing, shelter, legal representation, health care, clothing and food.

-- Assisting with petitioning for Emergency Protection from Abuse Orders.

-- Dispatching an in-person advocate to the hospital to be with an individual during a sexual assault examination.

-- Connecting individuals for follow-up services with Centre Safe staff.

Whether an individual is experiencing a harmful situation themselves, are struggling with past abuse or are a concerned loved one of someone who may be experiencing a harmful situation, they're encouraged to call any time, any day.

Another important aspect of their work is Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children; a prevention training program that teaches adults how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

At this time, there are over 8,000 Centre County adults trained in Stewards of Children, a number that continues to rise as the year goes on.

Training dates and times for Centre County residents, both virtually through Zoom and in-person, can be found on ymcaofcentrecounty.org.

"The training will remain free and available to any adult in Centre County that would like to take it," said Jamie SanFilippo, Director of Community Outreach, YMCA of Centre County.

The next in-person training will be held on May 3, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Youth Service Bureau in State College. To register for the event, you can visit the YMCA page and click the link.

The next training event through Zoom will be held April 18 from noon to 2 p.m. Registration for this event is the same as the May 3 training.

These trainings will cover topics such as facts about the problem of child sexual abuse, the types of situations in which child sexual abuse might occur, effective strategies for protecting children from sexual abuse, the importance of talking about prevention with children and other adults and the signs of sexual abuse so that you might intervene and be able to react responsibly.

Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children training features real accounts from sexual abuse survivors. If you have any questions or concerns about taking the training for this reason, please don't hesitate to contact SanFilippo at jsanfilippo@ymcaocc.org or 814-237-7717.