In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, WHEDCo partnered with Prevent Child Abuse New York to host the 5th Annual Walk to Prevent Child Abuse. Community members, youth, and WHEDCo staff walked to support statewide education, advocacy and preventative programs to end child abuse and neglect.
“The Bronx has an alarmingly high rate of child abuse and neglect that simply cannot be tolerated,” said Doxene Roberts, WHEDCo’s Director of Family Support and Housing Services and the organizer of the walk. “This is the fifth year that WHEDCo, Prevent Child Abuse NY and the local community have come together to raise funds, promote awareness, and advocate for the protection of all children throughout the Bronx.”
Participants gathered in the schoolyard of PS/MS 218 to begin the one-hour walk. Students held signs proclaiming, “Love Your Child” and “Little Hearts, Big Hurts.” Local organizations such as Planned Parenthood of New York, the Cardinal McCloskey Services, the Rockland Child Development Services, and the New York City Child Care Resource and Referral Consortium offered support and information before the walk.
Child Abuse Prevention Advocate Chris Capone helped kick off the event with a brief motivational talk. "I am a survivor of child abuse and there was one person in my life that reached out to my sister and I when we needed it most. She gave us the love and courage to keep going in life,” said Chris. “It is my mission to be that person in the lives of neglected children by inspiring others to put a stop to child abuse. WHEDCo's Walk for Children gave us all that voice to spread the word.”
Chris and WHEDCo staffer Gabe Urraca led the walk along Grand Concourse from WHEDCo’s Urban Horizons building on 167th Street to the Bronx County Courthouse on 161st Street, and back. Passing a megaphone between them, Chris and Gabe kept up the stamina and passion of the walkers with chants like, “Hey! Ho! Child abuse has got to go!” Escorted by the 42nd precinct, the group attracted a lot of attention from passersby and was even joined by some interested onlookers.
Felicah, a sophomore at Frederick Douglass Academy 3, was especially proud of her role in raising awareness about child abuse in the South Bronx. Felicah felt she had “achieved something” by publicly advocating against this important problem in her neighborhood. “A lot can change in a child’s life from being abused,” she said. “It can have a lot of negative effects.”
It was an afternoon to remember for the 30+ children and young adults of WHEDCo’s afterschool program who participated in the walk and for the residents and pedestrians of 161st – 167th Streets. Most importantly, it was a sign of hope for children suffering from physical and mental abuse in the South Bronx.
For more information, please contact Ms. Doxene Roberts, Director of Family Support Services @ WHEDCo
(718-839-1133).