Child Abuse Network

Hi everyone!  Today the Jackson County Board of Commissioners proclaimed April Child Abuse Prevention month.  All three commissioners spoke eloquently and urgently about the need to eradicate the horrific abuse and neglect children in our county live with -- yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I'm proud to have invited them to do this proclamation.  There were my remarks...

My name is Dee Anne Everson and I am the executive director of the United Way of Jackson County.  Also I am one of three co-conveners of Jackson County Child Abuse Network, CAN.  My lead partners are Jackson County and the Oregon Department of Human Services.  Last year I stood here as a stunned community member who has just completed grand jury duty with a calling to do something.  This year I stand here as a member of CAN with more than 40 partners of providers, survivors, policy makers and interested community members who are determined to change the ravages of child abuse in our community.  We are focused on systems change, prevention and public awareness.  We do this with your help.  I thank you for your commitment.  I have learned so much this past year about the lives of children in our community, about the level of destruction present in families, and about hope.  Even Baby Hope who suffered multiple skull fractures this year.  I remember vividly learning from my grand jury experience but what I didn't understand before was that child abusers steal the essence of a child.  And it can take years and years and years before they find that essence again to deliver on the promise to community of engagement, involvement and productivity.  We could read every day of the horrific cases sadly.  We don't do this work because we are able to or should or even must, we do it because we CAN.  Please join us April 14 at noon in Vogel Plaza for the annual child abuse awareness event.  Thank you.

My remarks were followed by an incredible man whom I have had the incredible fortune to become friends with.  His name is Randy Ellison.  He is bright, charming, witty and loves music.  Randy is an incredible asset to our community and his remarks follow:

My name is Randy Ellison.  Statistics tell us that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday.  It is estimated that at least 39 million Americans are survivors of child sexual abuse.  Using that number we can estimate that over 25,000 residents of Jackson County were victims of child sexual abuse.  25,000 of our community are survivors of this horrible epidemic.

They are family members.  We go to church with them.  We sit on boards with them.  We stand in the line at the grocery store with them.  We see them at the gym.

You are currently listening to one of them.  And what happened to them and to me is invisible.  You do not see that most of us are totally incapable of something as basic as trust of another human being.

Over 80 percent of us are or have been addicted to alcohol or drugs.  Many of us suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  We have lives that are broken in ways you cannot even imagine.  We live in a world of guilt, shame and secrets.  Many of us find we are uncomfortable in our own skin.  And yet we do not even know why.  Most victims never tell a soul what happened to them.  Many never admit it to themselves.  I was 56 before I started counseling and finally confronted what my minister did to me.

I am fortunate.  I looked pretty normal to the casual observer.  But I'm not.  I have been an alcoholic and drug addict most of my adult life.  I fought off thoughts of suicide until I was in my thirties.  I have had 5 different careers in 5 different cities and moved my family to 18 different homes.  I was not there for my daughters growing up and I was very little support for my wife of 38 years.  Yet I am called successful.  Just imagine what has gone on in the lives of the rest of our 25,000 neighbors who suffer from being child victims.

As I sat in church last Sunday, the preacher talked of resurrection of life and new beginnings.  A line from hymn we sang went "There is a dawn in every darkness bringing hope to you and me."

Please look at this proclamation as a way to shine a light of hope to as many as possible not only by calling attention to the problem but as a call to action to all of us to do more.  Work to eliminate intentional harm to children.  Support programs that help survivors recover and change laws to help them find justice.  Thank you.

Besides being moved to tears, I too heard Randy's call to action.  I will do more.  I CAN.  You CAN too!