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Locals join together in Child Abuse Prevention Walk

Bluefield Daily Telegraph - 4/23/2017

April 23--BLUEFIELD -- Rain failed Saturday to totally dampen an annual walk which helps focus the public's attention on child abuse and what is available to prevent such crimes and address them when they do occur.

Despite the cool, wet weather soaking Lotito Park, volunteers arrived at the Ridge Runner Depot for the annual Child Abuse Prevention Walk. Walkers still managed to go for a shortened hike around the city park before departing, Mercer County Child Protect Executive Director Shiloh Woodard said.

"We've done this walk in Mercer County for the past several years. It's just been a sort of grassroots event between Child Protect Mercer County and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and other child serving agencies," she said. "We just want to have a free event where people can come out and show their support for keeping our kids safe in our community as well as doing everything they can to prevent child abuse in our community."

"Today, we were part of the events for the Family Fun Day at the Bluefield Parks and Recreation. Unfortunately with the weather we abbreviated our walk here in the park, but still had a good turnout despite the weather. These folks are committed to keeping our kids safe in our community," Woodard said.

People in the county have been working to both prevent child abuse and address instances of it when they occur, she stated.

"I think Mercer County is really unique in the way that they support prevention efforts," she said. "Our Body Safety school based prevention program has been going on in Mercer County for well over a decade. And it's actually a model program across the state. When they look at prevention programming, they often look at the Mercer County program as the model way of implementing it because we have such a good buy in from the school board and local schools. We go into every elementary classroom in Mercer County to talk about body safety and what child abuse is in an appropriate, child friendly way with body safety rules. If somebody touches you in a way you don't want them to, you have the right to tell them to stop. Your body is your own; also, if something happens to you, it's never your fault and if the first person you tell doesn't believe you, you can keep telling until someone does are just a couple of the rules."

Local schools and law enforcement have worked well to address child abuse issues.

"We do. Child Protect coordinates a team response to abuse in Mercer County. We work very closely with the (Department of Health and Human Resources), local law enforcement and the local prosecutor's office, and Sgt. M.D. Clemons of the Crimes Against Children Unit is co-located at the Child Protect facility," Woodard said. "When kids come to our center, it's typically over a concern about criminal child abuse, and so when we're talking with them trying to determine what services they need, we have law enforcement on site to help investigate the criminal aspects," Woodard said.

Sometimes Mercer County's child abuse rates might seem high, but its citizens have been willing to report child abuse cases when they are discovered.

"I feel like child abuse happens at the same rate across the board. The county is a community that is very willing to report abuse when they suspect it," Woodard stated. "We're not a community that doesn't believe child abuse doesn't happen. It realizes it's an issue and is very willing to do what it takes to help kids who have been abused and protect kids from being abused."

-- Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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(c)2017 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.)

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