Protecting children from abuse
Last weekend on my radio show, I had the distinct honor of interviewing Angela Liddle, the president of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, a heroic organization based in Harrisburg that lobbies on behalf of children who are in danger of being abused, or who have already suffered abuse.
During our hour-long conversation, this native of York, did what so many of us have failed to do, blinded by our politics and our passions: Find real solutions to protect the most vulnerable among us.
Angela, and her organization, are above the partisan bickering.
The PFSA doesn’t care about who can sue, and who can be liable for past harm.
Well, perhaps it does at some level, but the focus of this organization is not to avenge but, rather, to protect.
While a lot of the focus on child abuse has been on who can get their pound of flesh or their righteous reward (depending upon your particular, partisan point of view,) the PFSA is concerned with one thing only: Making sure that children are raised in a safe and nurturing environment.
For this exceptional group of people, success is not measured in how many lawsuits can be filed and how many people can be prosecuted.
It is determined by how many children grow up without ever knowing what the word “abuse” means.
Prevention, not punishment, is the central focus of PFSA. Or, as the vision statement carried on its website proclaims, “Every child deserves to grow and thrive free from abuse and neglect.”
Imagine how difficult it is for a child who has been exposed to mistreatment at the hands, in many cases, of someone they have trusted: A teacher, a counselor, a coach, a priest or, most tragically, a parent.
Once the abuse starts, the child is set on a path that often ends in unspeakable sorrow.
That is why, much more than legislators in Harrisburg and advocates with ulterior motives and agendas, the PFSA provides such a vitally important service to the residents of our commonwealth.
Angela expressed the mission and the importance of the organization during our interview, discussing the different programs that are available to both at-risk children and, more importantly, the parents who might need support in order to avoid abusing their children.
Beyond the family, it’s clear that one of the greatest threats to children have been their teachers.
Pennsylvania has seen a troubling spike in the number of abuse cases involving a teacher having sexual relations with a child, and Angela represents each and every one of us who truly cares about young people when she demands a “zero tolerance policy” from those in positions of authority.
It stands to reason that if people are dealt with harshly the first time around, there will be no second, third, or fourth.
Until relatively recently, child abuse has not been regarded as a “real” problem, possibly because of the antiquated idea that children are the property of the parents and that society needs to respect the boundaries of each nuclear family.
During the interview, I mentioned to Angela that when my parents were young and growing up in ethnic neighborhoods in West Philadelphia, it was very common for an adult to discipline, feed, protect, and provide safe harbor for children who didn’t share their bloodline but who were a part of that larger community, the “village” that Hillary Clinton, to her credit, discussed many years ago.
At that time, a lot of people criticized the then-first lady for her ideas that children belonged, in a sense, to each one of us, but seeing the exponential increase in cases of abuse have convinced me that Hillary was right about this one thing: It does take a village to protect a child.
It also takes noble organizations like the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance.
For more information about their programs and mission, you can access their website at http://www.pa-fsa.org.
There is nothing more important than ensuring the safety of children. Get involved.