Child Abuse in the United States
The statistics of the number of children abused and neglected in the United States are staggering. And as the economy worsens, child abuse is on the rise. Here are some of the facts:
Every ten seconds a report of child abuse is made.rnFive children a day die as a direct result of child abuse – and over 75% of these children are under the age of four years.rnChild abuse doesn’t just occur in poor families or certain ethnic or cultural groups – it crosses all boundaries.rnOver one quarter of children who were abused or neglected will continue the cycle of abuse by harming their own children.rnMore than 90% of children who are sexually abused know their attacker.rnOver two-thirds of adults who were abused as children develop psychological disorders.rnIn 2007, the estimated annual cost of child abuse was over $104 billion in the United States alone.
I am writing this article today not to shock or horrify you, but to tell you about an organization that is trying to combat these statistics and make a difference. Other than giving money to this organization through charitable contributions, I have no connection with them whatsoever. I just see what they are doing and believe in them. I am trying to spread the word about the good they do. The organization is called Childhelp®.
A little history
In 1959, two young actresses, Sara Bruckner (O’Meara) and Yvonne Lime (Fedderson) were in Tokyo on a goodwill tour to visit U.S. troops. After a typhoon had swept through the area, they came across a group of young children huddling together for warmth. These children had nowhere to live and had been turned away from orphanages because of their mixed heritage. These children were Japanese-American - children of American servicemen. The two big-hearted women couldn’t leave them behind – they took them to their hotel for the night and tried to find a way to help them. All of the orphanages contacted refused the children – they were considered to be unadoptable - but a woman by the name of Kin Horuchi, living in a one room hut, agreed to take them. She already had several Japanese-American children living with her. Word quickly spread and soon she had over 100 mixed-race children. Sara and Yvonne left for California to start raising money to help support the children and the organization International Orphans Inc. was born.
Jumping ahead to 1966, Sara and Yvonne were invited to Washington, DC to address the issue of Vietnamese-American children. With the assistance of the Third Marine Amphibious Force, five orphanages, a school for orphaned children and a medical facility were built. International Orphans Inc. ran these facilities until the American troop withdrawal in 1975. If you are a baby boomer, you will probably remember Operation Baby Lift – Sara and Yvonne, with a coalition of volunteers, arranged for thousands of children to be airlifted out and united with adoptive homes in the United States.
rnIn 1976, the name International Orphans Inc was officially changed to Children’s Village USA and two years later, a treatment facility for severely abused children was established. The two women continued to be instrumental in combating child abuse.
In 1982, the Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-Child® was born. Sara and Yvonne continue their work to this day and have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five years in a row. To see the wonderful work they do, to read about actual cases of children who have been helped or to make a contribution, please visit
http://www.childhelp.org
The Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the United States and Canada. Children in trouble, parents who are on the verge of abusing there children and bystanders or family members who become aware of child abuse situations are all welcome to call. Trained professionals are available to assist every caller and to get help to the children who need it.
The work this charity does every day is making a real difference in the world. 90 cents out of every dollar donated goes directly to programs helping children. In the fifty plus years Childhelp® has been in operation, over 4 million children have been helped.
Please support Childhelp® if you can!