HEAR THEM ROAR
Mission Kids reaches out to youth through new program Kids in the Pottstown School District were given a live ROAR lesson prior to the pandemic.
EAST NORRITON » Featuring a whimsical lion named Rex, Mission Kids Advocacy Center’s first child-focused education prevention program will accommodate schools and other organizations any way they choose — live or virtually.
“We know that schools have a lot of stresses on them trying to come up with hybrid learning models or getting kids used to virtual learning,” noted Michelle McDyre, Mission Kids Prevention Education and Outreach Manager. “So we are fitting in however we best can and making it as easy and accessible for them as possible. We had a grant to do this last year and we did the training for almost 5,000 students in person.
It’s actually legally required in Pennsylvania for public schools to provide age-appropriate education prevention programs but we found that a lot of schools were relying on their school nurse, the gym teacher or a counselor to show a video and talk about child abuse.”
The Mission Kids organization was able to provide a better quality alternative to all of that.
“So what we wanted to do was come in with a constructive program that was evidence-based with research behind it, and we were able to do that in a bunch of school districts,” McDyre explained.
Last year the program reached 24 schools and nearly 5,000 kids before it was cut short by the pandemic.
“So this year we wanted to offer it virtually. It will be either live instruction where I’ll be doing a lesson with kids face to face in real-time or we’re recording it so that teachers can show it to kids whenever it fits into their lesson plans,” McDyre said.
First up this fall, North Penn School District has around 3,200 kids that will be trained through a “virtual live” approach.
ROAR was created to
teach children ages 4 through 8 how to protect themselves from abuse. It’s described as an interactive lesson to be taught in a classroom or group setting, as the lion named Rex and his animal friends take children on a journey that helps Rex find his ROAR with a simple acronym teaching children that their bodies are their own while empowering children to stand up against abuse. Take-home materials reinforce learning for the purpose of continuing the ROAR conversation at home.
“We know that children are most vulnerable to abuse from the ages of seven to 13, and we know that the median age for reporting abuse is age nine, So this instruction is tailored toward kids four through eight because we’re trying to intervene earlier,” McDyre said. “So before they get to that vulnerable age we want to teach them about consent and body safety and that it’s OK to say no. So even simple things like if they’re at a family party and someone asks them for a hug and they don’t want to give them a hug it’s OK to say no.”
The program helps kids identify three safe adults to talk to, McDyre pointed out.
“That’s really important now during the pandemic because we know that a lot of kids are at home and they could be at home with their abusers so we’re going to see who are they in contact with … who are you in contact with that if you needed help you could talk to?”
Mission Kids is open for all of its services during the pandemic.
“The pandemic has not stopped child abuse,” McDyre said.
ChildLine, an abuse hotline operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, reported 10,674 reports in April — a 50 percent decrease from the same month last year, McDyre noted.
Advocates and officials across the region noted even bigger drops in April, which happened to be National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Montgomery
County saw a 62 percent decline in year-over-year abuse reports, with Chester County recording 64 percent fewer.
“We expect far fewer reports of child abuse because children are isolated at home and are not in regular contact with mandated reporters such as coaches, counselors, teachers. However, we know that the pandemic and related stressors can leave children especially vulnerable to abuse. Just because the reports are not coming in it doesn’t mean that child abuse is not happening. We just expect that it’s not being reported.” Financial stress, medical stress, being isolated from peers and support networks, lack of parental supervision, with children possibly being trapped at home with their abuser without contact to get help are all contributing factors.
Mission Kids pays a licensing fee to the University of Oklahoma’s Child Advocacy Center for use of the ROAR program.
“We’re the first in Pennsylvania to use it. A lot of other child advocacy centers in the surrounding counties are using older programs and showing a video to kids, but we wanted to use this because it’s interactive, with a cardboard cutout of the lion. We found that it’s a lot more relatable to kids. It’s colorful and fun and we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback about it. Kids think they’re interacting with a big lion and they get really excited about it.”
Any youth-serving organizations tailored for kids ages four through eight, such as daycare facilities and after-school programs, are eligible to receive the ROAR program by contacting Mission Kids at 484-687-2990.