IF you were to look at criminals in prison, you will find that most of the offenders have a history that includes being a victim of childhood abuse. In fact, 1 out of 20 children are victims of child abuse, and these innocent youths are likely to grow into adults suffering from addiction, mental health problems, and are more likely to end up swallowed up by the court system. Children are the future. Save the Children Change the World
Every state spends billions of dollars combatting the effects of childhood abuse in adults.
In my work with those with mental health issues, most of them started with trauma in childhood, mostly sexual in nature. These wounds run deep and prevent the victims from ever having a normal life without intervention.
Our crime statistics would reduce massively if we could just give our children the love and support that they need to have a healthy foundation for a better life.
ACEs are Adverse Childhood Experiences, and they are slowly killing our youth. They are 8 times more likely to commit suicide before coming to adulthood. These young brains and bodies need nurturing to release the proper hormones which are necessary for normal childhood development.
Trauma has many faces. Childhood trauma can be the result of not having enough food to eat, lack of adequate shelter, or domestic violence. The greater the exposure to ACEs, the more likely they are to become addicts, antisocial, mentally ill, or criminally minded.
Childhood trauma creates an incredible financial drain on the community as these children grow up and create problems in society as we try to address their needs. You can hardly fault them for something that happened to them as innocent children, and we are faced with the reality and cost later in life.
Children inherit their cycle of hardship from their parents, and they are likely to raise families that duplicate the generation of the problem after generation, unless we can start to do something about it at the earliest stage: These precious babies.
For communities without adequate resources, they are unlikely to affect making the situation any better because you cannot punish a broken person to wellness. There are not enough prisons in the world to deal with this issue of adults who are wounded and broken to no fault of their own.
Economically challenged neighborhoods are the worst breeding grounds for childhood victimization and abuse, which is passed on generationally.
Your Community Can Be the Difference
Life could be saved and changed. These victims could become active valuable members of our communities with the right kind of attention and programs.
Leading with compassion, some churches and community organizations have started to reach out to the victims, with supportive, non-judgmental home visits without strings attached. This has the most measurable impact on the youth being visited and supported.
These young victims need to have access to proper medical attention without having to burden that family with the expense of doing so. Churches or other non-profits can help to subsidize the medical attention needed.
“Normal” children have access to educational and social programs that may be out of reach of the economically challenged kids. A funded and empowered organization can help to bridge the gap and create opportunities for underprivileged children to participate in these programs. This helps to breed self-confidence and esteem in the young children who would otherwise fall victim to the cycle of hardship.
Seeing that our children, all of our children in our communities have adequate food, shelter and clothing is a key to the gateway of breaking the cycle.
Want to change the world?
Help a child break free from the cycle of hardship.
Many blessings to you.