(Photo courtesy of KIDS Center)
KIDS Center, a child abuse intervention center, reached a milestone this month as 10,000 adults in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties have taken Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children. This training is vital to ensuring our community is prepared to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child abuse. When five percent of any population is trained, as Central Oregon is now, positive cultural shifts occur in addressing this serious issue.
KIDS Center, dedicated to preventing, evaluating, and treating all forms of child abuse, is a regional leader in training adults to better protect children from sexual abuse through their facilitation of Stewards of Children®. Since 2005, KIDS Center has facilitated Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children® trainings and grown their educational and prevention community resources. Kim Bohme, Prevention and Education Coordinator at KIDS Center, stated:
“We are very proud of the over 10,000 adults in Central Oregon who have learned how to protect children from child sexual abuse. However, our work is not done. Statistics suggest that 1 in 10 children in Central Oregon will be sexually abused before the age of 18, making this one of the most prevalent health problem children face. There is another 95% of adults in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties that can learn how to create a safer place for children.”
The Stewards of Children program lays the foundation for a proactive, community-wide approach to the prevention of child sexual abuse and builds momentum toward educating and empowering all adults to protect children from abuse. In Deschutes County alone, 6,506 adults are trained to create environments that reduce the risk for abuse and allow children to live, learn, play, and worship in safety. Bohme adds:
“Our goal is to continue to train people in preventing child sexual abuse in Central Oregon until every adult has experienced this valuable and important training. Our immediate goal is to ensure that an additional 1,000 adults participate in Stewards of Children in 2017! KIDS Center is committed to the total health and well-being of the children and families in our community and beyond–we are ramping up our educational outreach in 2017 to reach as many adults as possible.”
Upcoming training dates:
January 10 Madras 4-7pm
February 9 Bend 6-9pm
With grant support from The Ford Family Foundation, Cow Creek Umpqua Indians Foundation and, Pacific Power Foundation, KIDS Center is able to offer Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children program to community members as a three-hour training. Registration can be found at kidscenter.org/trainings.
Those interested in participating in Darkness to Light Stewards of Children trainings and other child abuse prevention programs and/or volunteer opportunities can contact Kim Bohme, KIDS Center Prevention and Education Coordinator, at kbohme@kidscenter.org or at 541.306.6062.
Built by the community and for the community, KIDS Center is dedicated to the prevention, evaluation and treatment of all forms of child abuse. In a child-friendly environment, KIDS Center provides comprehensive medical evaluations to children who may have been abused, seeking to find out what has happened and to provide a path to healing through family support and therapeutic services. KIDS Center is a Darkness to Light affiliate, authorized to facilitate Stewards of Children® training and has been providing the training for 10 years in Central Oregon.
Darkness to Light (D2L) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse. Through education and awareness, the organization seeks to create a safer world for children to grow and thrive.
Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. To date, over one million educators, youth serving professionals, organization volunteers, and community members have been trained. Stewards of Children® is the largest training program of its kind, with the largest network of child protection advocates in the world. For more information visit D2L.org/Stewards.
