By Caroline Wallis, Executive Director of F.A.I.T.H.
April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month and pinwheels displayed during the month symbolize each case of confirmed child abuse in Rabun County.
F.A.I.T.H. served 121 children in Rabun County this year, according to a sign posted outside the Rabun County Courthouse that brings awareness to the cause in the county.
F.A.I.T.H.’s Power House works in collaboration with law enforcement and the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) to provide a safe, confidential place for children to have age appropriate forensic interviews and medical exams after a courageous child discloses abuse, Wallis said.
“Child sexual abuse is an epidemic in our country and around the world. The statistics are horrifying. As many as 93 percent of victims under the age of 18 know their abuser. This is not a stranger danger problem. Every nine minutes a child is confirmed to have been sexually abused,” Wallis said.
She said adverse childhood experiences can cause a lifetime of problems, including unplanned pregnancies, depression, PTSD, substance abuse and increased risk of suicide.
“That is why F.A.I.T.H.’s Power House must raise just over $300,000 a year to ensure every child served is able to receive as much trauma focused therapy as needed to heal,” Wallis said. “We also provide this evidence based therapy to adult survivors who never received the care and support services needed to heal.”
In one month this year, F.A.I.T.H.’s Power House, located in Toccoa serving Rabun, Habersham and Stephens counties, served the equivalent of two classroom sizes of children.
“That is staggering and horrific,” Wallis said. She said she is very proud of the dedicated staff and to our multidisciplinary team members (investigators, DA’s office, DFCS, and therapists) who work 24/7 to protect and provide vital services to assist these children and their non-offending family members.