Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention / Foster Parenting

A ceremony recognizing child victims of abuse and neglect will be held on Monday, April 20, 2015 beginning at 5:30PM at the amphitheatre in Marble Falls' Johnson Park. It will be brief (around 30 minutes) with a bell-ringing for each child in presently in State care in Burnet County. Thereafter a rose will be placed on the calm waters of beautiful Lake Marble Falls -- one for each of the children. The public is invited to share this time with Daybreak Rotary, CASA, community leaders, and others concerned with child welfare.

 

Daybreak Rotary's objective in this ceremony is part if its ongoing mission of encouraging more foster homes in the highland lakes area so that the children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, along with all of the people who aid them, are better served. Foster placement far from home places a burden on everyone concerned and hampers the chance to reunify the families affected.

 

As part of Daybreak's efforts in this regard and to promote awareness -- and hopefully prevention -- of child abuse, it was my privilege to represent Daybreak and accompany CASA's Executive Director Kristen Harris in an appearance on Friday at the KVUE studio in Austin. That clip can be seen by clicking here.

 

The KVUE interview was arranged by Rotarian Kirk Noaker who also drove us to the studio. He took time out of his busy day as the fact investigator for the Regional Capital Public Defender's Office in order to do this, and even shared his queso during our lunch at Chuy's afterward.

 

I wondered why Kirk went to such lengths and the answer was finally revealed in this selfie with KVUE's Yvonne Nava. (photos by Kirk)