Training to empower adults against child sexual abuse
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IDAHO FALLS – “We must do something, not only for the well-being of our children but for our communities as a whole.”
That’s how Shannon Fox, eastern Idaho’s coordinator for child abuse prevention efforts, feels. Stewards of Children Initiative, a Bannock Youth Foundation program, and the LDS Ward in Island park invite you to participate in a training in Island Park on Oct. 18 to join them in that effort.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is hosting the training at one of their meeting houses. It’s a five-step, researched-based training program aimed at empowering adults in communities to prevent child sexual abuse.
“We have trained just under 3,700 people from our eastern Idaho communities in just two and a half years,” Fox said.
Darkness to Light reports 10 percent of children experience sexual abuse. Based on this statistic, Fox estimates more than 2,000 children in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area have experienced sexual abuse.
The training will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 350 Church Lane in Island Park.
Darkness to Light, an international program that envisions a world where adults protect children against abuse, started in 2000 in South Carolina.
Stewards of Children Initiative of Idaho’s biggest event is their annual Ghostly Gathering. The Ghostly Gathering is a trick-or-treat. The event this year will be on Oct. 27 at the Mountain View Event Center in Pocatello.
This is their third Ghostly Gathering, and Fox said they had 3,000 people at last year’s.