The Family Crisis Center and the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center are hosting community events in April and May to raise awareness and provide support for survivors of abuse. The Play It Safe event on April 27 offers resources and activities for families, while the Healing Art Exhibit on May 3 provides a platform for survivors to share their experiences through various art forms.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Ashley Stallings, the executive director and co-founder of the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center has planned an event in Madison County called the Play It Safe event, which will be held on April 27.
“We're just going to have a lot of different vendors there that provide resources to families in the community, so we would love people to come out,” Stallings said.
Other organizations at the event include Family Crisis Center, Just For Kids, Eastern Idaho Public Health, United Way and Community Youth in Action.
“So, there'll be a lot of opportunities to come out and not only play games and do crafts and get some treats and things like that, but also really learn about these amazing resources for families that might be struggling in our communities,” Stallings said.
Chloe Aponte, the public awareness and intern coordinator for the Family Crisis Center, says events like this with multiple sponsors bring the community together.
“Collaborating on events like this, I think, provides another outlet for survivors to seek services and support and to just be in a space where they're not necessarily talking about child abuse or sexual assault or any of those things, but they feel that support from their community,” Aponte said.
The Play It Safe event will be held on April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In May, the Family Crisis Center will host its 8th Annual Healing Art Exhibit at the Family Crisis Center.
“For this event, anyone can submit any medium of art, so we take photography, painting, sculptors and choreographers,” Aponte said. “The goals of our event are to create a space in which victims and survivors can feel validated in their experiences and can find hope and healing, give allies a platform through which to show their support for victims and survivors, and then to increase awareness and empathy within our community for victims and survivors.”
The Healing Art Exhibit will be held on May 3 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Family Crisis Center.
For more information, you can find the Family Crisis Center on Instagram and Facebook or head to its website. For volunteer opportunities at the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center, you can find it on Instagram and Facebook or head to its website.