Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month starts with Wear Blue Day

A simple show of unity could be enough to start a meaningful conversation.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – As we enter Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month, you may start April with a question. For example, ‘Why is everybody wearing blue today?’ The answer is simple enough: it’s Wear Blue Day, a national effort to bring awareness to the month ahead.

With child abuse being such a widespread problem, it can feel nearly impossible to stop it, but each one of us does have the power to do something.

“As adults, we have a responsibility to protect the children in our lives and understand more about the complexity of child abuse”, says Paige Piper, the Executive Director of Lincoln’s Child Advocacy Center.

As you may have guessed, there are lots of ways to jumpstart your involvement.

Piper lists off just a few: “From attending a training, following us on social media, taking the time to wear blue and engage in a conversation.”

Conversation, of course, can lead to the point where the CAC steps in, helping those children who are victims of abuse.

“Our job is to be a safe place for them”, Piper says. “To listen to their stories and partner on that investigation, but then also to advocate for them and to figure out what does this child need to move forward and heal from the worst things that could have happened.”

If you know what to look for and what to say (there’s that idea of understanding again), you could make a real difference in a child’s life.

To learn more about the Child Advocacy Center and the work they do, as well as ways you can help children in your community, check out the CAC website, their Facebook page, and their Instagram profile.