Darkness2Light plans campaign against abuse
Posted Courtesy of The Post and Courier (http://www.charleston.net)
Published on 7/11/06
BY HOLLY AUER
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Darkness2Light, the Charleston-based national nonprofit organization devoted to raising awareness of child sexual abuse, is preparing to shine its beam on underserved communities in the Tri-County area.
The Stewards of Children Prevent-a-thon, a month-long series of training sessions for community members, is to begin in early August. By offering its 2 1/2 hour training program for free to parents, youth organization employees and volunteers at sites throughout the Lowcountry, the organization hopes to further slash the stigma of talking about sex abuse and spread tools for preventing it.
Many of the training sessions, which will be offered Monday through Friday from Aug. 7 through Sept. 1, will be held near CARTA bus stops throughout the area to increase access. The sessions are open to the public, and no registration is required.
"Every one of us has the opportunity to protect children - personally, professionally, whatever," said Martha Tumblin, a family and addictions therapist who is working with Darkness2Light to coordinate the Prevent-a-thon.
Those who have received Darkness2Light training in the past say it empowered them not only to act when they suspect a child has been abused or when a child reports abuse, but also to be proactive about stepping in to prevent abuse. The training uses testimony from adult survivors of abuse as well as experts to provide participants with information about the problem.
Lynn Turnage, director of educational ministries at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church, took Darkness2Light's Stewards of Children training course two years ago, and later became a trainer for the church. Now, about 700 of the church's 2,500 adult members have received the training.
The training helped her both as a parent - her daughter, Catherine, is 5 - and as an educator, she said. One idea she strives to implement from the program is teaching her daughter the importance of saying "no" when she's not comfortable with something.
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