Family Strength and Support Month Events Set For April

Pinwheels for Family Strength and Support month outside the Jamestown Municipal Building

Community members kicked off Family Strength and Support month early in Jamestown with a rally held at City Hall on Monday.

The month-long campaign, which begins in April, was formally called Child Abuse Prevention Month. It highlights the crucial importance of protecting children and providing support to families.

Child Advocacy Program Prevention Educator and Training Coordinator Emily Spielman said they’re putting up blue and silver pinwheels to raise awareness around the county, “And this year we want to take it a step further by including some education with these pinwheels so that we can along with that awareness bring the tools and the skills that people need to prevent this. You will see some yard signs along with those pinwheels. Saraden (Randall) did a great job of creating a QR code and a poster with that information on it.”

CAP Safe Harbor Coordinator Saraden Randell said the QR code will take people to a website with information about how to recognize signs of abuse, how to respond, and how to find support and assistance.

According to the New York State Central Registry, in 2023, Chautauqua County received 2,603 reports of child abuse necessitating investigation. Of these reports, 21% were substantiated by DSS, indicating credible evidence supporting allegations of abuse or maltreatment.

Two more Pinwheel plantings are scheduled in April that will take place at:
– Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 1 pm: Chautauqua Municipal Building, 2 Academy Street, Mayville, N.Y.
– Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 1 pm: Dunkirk City Hall, 342 Central Ave, Dunkirk, NY 14048.

All pinwheel planting events are open to the public.

Residents are also encouraged to wear blue on April 3 in solidarity with efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.

For more information on protecting children from abuse and neglect, visit preventchildabuseny.org, chqgov.com/humansocial-services/children-family-services, or contact capjustice.org.

If you believe a child is being abused or maltreated, you can help by making a call to the NY State Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-342-3720.