‘Protect every child’: Dozens gather in Lincoln to spread awareness of abuse

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Representatives of 100 nonprofits and agencies from across the state walked to the state Capitol on Friday to promote prevention of child abuse.

They were wearing blue and sticking pinwheels along the way.

Lynn Ayers was one of them. She spent 40 years working on child abuse and neglect investigations.

“Now that I’m officially a grandma, it means even more that we reach out and protect every child in our community,” she said. 

Ayers said what she saw during her career is what motivates her to raise her voice. 

“We can’t continue to pick up pieces of broken lives,” she said. “We really have to act actively to support child abuse prevention efforts thorough our community.” 

The most recent data from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services shows that the state receives more than 30,000 abuse and neglect calls every year.  

Advocates said multiple agencies work together in Lincoln to help families to prevent abusive environments.  

“We all know that being a parent is hard and raising children comes with a set of complicated situations, and we want to join together and support families to have a healthy experience,” said Kristen Derr with the United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County.