Group says child abuse a community issue

The face of child maltreatment is the one you see in the mirror.

That’s what to Heidi Baur of the PEERS Family Development Center in Jacksonville told a packed room of social work professionals, students, families and children at the Onslow Memorial Hospital’s annual child abuse vigil Monday. The vigil’s purpose was to raise awareness about child abuse in the community, to clarify the truth about child abuse and maltreatment, and the importance of community groups collaborating to curtail the problem.

The director of the Onslow County department of Social Services, Roger Penrod, shared a theme with Baur’s “there but for the grace of God and the community go I” message.

“It is my firm belief that the majority of cases of abuse or neglect are not out of malevolent intent,” he said.

Many cases, he explained, are parents of young children who feel frustrated or overwhelmed by their circumstances and are not able to find help.

“This is why child abuse prevention is a community issue,” he said.

Penrod said in the last year, the Onslow County DSS had received 2,700 reports of child abuse and neglect; 1,900 of these cases were investigated and 35 were substantiated. Six child abuse incidents in the last year resulted in fatalities.

The problem, however, is not directly linked to the high military presence in the county, as some have assumed.

Penrod said that 38 percent of the reported cases were military related, roughly proportional to the population demographics.

The Chief Executive Officer of Onslow Hospital, Dr. Ed Piper, shared another shocking statistic that he believes contributes to the abuse and neglect of children. Citing author David Blankenhorn, he said that 50 percent of today’s families nationwide are headed by single mothers.

“The bottom line is a lack of love and the absence of a father in the family,” he said.

Prevention of the crises that can lead to child maltreatment and Shaken Baby Syndrome — the primary cause of death in child abuse cases — is possible with the help of the community, the speakers said.

Suzie McCabe, the maternal/child case manager at Onslow Memorial Hospital, referred to the tagline of the vigil, “it shouldn’t hurt to be a child,” saying, “it shouldn’t hurt to be a parent, either.”

Members of various social work organizations in the community formed a large part of the crowd in attendance.

Nicole Meyer, a compliance specialist with the Onslow County Partnership for Children, came with her 20-month old daughter Makenna to support the cause. Meyer brought her daughter “just to show that we can raise our children free of abuse and neglect,” she said. “It’s possible to raise a healthy child.”

Margie Rogers, a student in the social work program at UNCW, said she is getting her degree to do something about the various kinds of abuses she has observed in her lifetime. “I’ve always wanted to help in some way,” she said.

Rogers said she was eager to see how the vigil would make the public more informed about abuse.

McCabe said that in the five vigils that the hospital has held, the attendance grows each year.

“Everybody coming out just demonstrates that our community is committed to children,” she said.

Contact Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com.