Dear Friends,
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In the few weeks leading up to this month, our collective lives have been turned upside down.
With shelter-in-place, the daily protective eyes of teachers and other mandated reporters are no longer on children. Days after schools and childcare centers closed, child abuse reporting dramatically decreased — this is not good news. It means that children could be at greater risk for abuse and neglect, and their families disconnected from essential supports and services.
Families are having their resiliency tested with the extreme stressors of isolation, job loss, and the difficulty meeting basic family needs like food, diapers, formula, clothing, and medications.
News around the country and locally have reported about the impact of COVID-19 on the increasing risk of child abuse. Read the recent article in the SF Examiner: School closures mean more child abuse is going unreported.
Through this, Safe & Sound remains open as an essential service providing emergency crisis counseling, food & hygiene delivery, 24/7 telephone support, virtual counseling, and parenting education.
A special message from Katie
When I search for glimpses of light and hope in these times, I find them in the families we serve: a mother, struggling with disabilities, so appreciative of the supplies we deliver to her door, or the look of relief from a father who received a Safe & Sound food basket after being unable to find anything on the food bank shelves for his daughter suffering from allergies.
Help Safe & Sound provide families with the support they need to stay strong and keep children safe.
And bookmark our Keeping Families Safe During COVID-19 to stay updated on our work and ways you can continue to help.
Thank you for your commitment to the children and families in our community, and your belief in the work of Safe & Sound.
With gratitude,
Katie
P.S. As this crisis continues, our needs grow exponentially. Thank you for helping us meet these needs by sharing your support now!