Book Celebration Will Launch Child Abuse Prevention Program
Posted Courtesy of Bend.com (www.bend.com)
The KIDS Center, in partnership with the Deschutes Public Library, will host a book reading and signing with author and child advocate, Carolyn Lehman. The book event marks the launch of a new sexual abuse prevention program in Central Oregon.
Lehman's new book, Strong at the Heart: How it Feels to Heal from Sexual Abuse, is the first to bring readers face-to-face with teen and adult survivors who talk about how they coped with childhood sexual abuse and how they got their lives back on track.
The book features in-depth interviews with nine survivors from a wide range of economic backgrounds and cultural communities, including Native American and Latino survivors. It is illustrated with black-and-white photographs of the survivors, their families, and friends.
"These true stories show how real people heal—and the incredibly important role that the family and the community can have in the healing process and in preventing child sexual abuse to start with," says Lehman. "The Darkness to Light program that the KIDS Center and community partners are bringing here will help Central Oregon become a healthier place for survivors and a safer place for kids."
Darkness to Light is a revolutionary, research-based sex abuse prevention training and outreach program that educates adults to recognize, prevent, and react responsibly to child sex abuse.
Experts estimate that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthdays. The greatest risk to children being sexually abused isn’t from strangers, but from friends and family – 93% of all victims know their abusers. Darkness to Light recognizes that a child’s safety is an adult’s job.
“Through the Darkness to Light initiative, adults will get a first-hand look at how sex abuse changes a child’s life and how the healing process can begin,” said Elaine Knobbs, KIDS Center Director of Prevention. “Darkness to Light will provide this community with important tools that will change how we look at child sex abuse and how we, as adults, can protect our children,” Knobbs said.
The book reading and discussion will take place on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at the downtown Bend Library from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend. Information about the Darkness to Light program, and community trainings dates and times, will be available at the book event. Strong at the Heart: How It Feels to Heal from Sexual Abuse will also be available for purchase.
For more information about Darkness to Light, please call 383-5958 or visit the KIDS Center website at www.kidscenter.info. To learn more about Carolyn Lehman and Strong at the Heart: How It Feels to Heal from Sexual Abuse visit www.strongattheheart.com.
The KIDS Center is a non-profit child abuse advocacy center dedicated to the evaluation, treatment and prevention of child abuse.
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