Why A Child's Healing Matters

A while back, I wrote about a little boy I called Sammy; how he had been so deeply marred by violence and sexual abuse that he had simply stopped talking.  Sammy had learned to endure his abuse up until the day that his dad, in a fit of wild,  untethered rage, killed his dog.  After that Sammy fell silent.  It was as if only by not speaking the unspeakable that Sammy could reconcile himself with the relentless ache of betrayal and hurt that haunted his every waking moment.

It took long, arduous weeks of therapy by a highly trained counselor before Sammy felt safe enough to start talking again.  Giving back a scarred child his birthright to joy and wonder and trust is a costly proposition.  In fact, the total for Sammy's case ran more than $3000.  Had it not been for our counselor, whose unwavering faith in a child's ability to heal coupled with the generous support of donors like you, Sammy's story would have turned out very differently.

Back in the 90's, two CDC researchers, Dr. Anda and Dr. Felitti, conducted the largest study ever on the health and social effects of adverse childhood experiences, such as what happened to Sammy, over a person's lifespan.  More than 17,000 people participated in the study and the findings were nothing short of remarkable.

Drs. Anda and Felitti found that almost two-thirds of study participants had experienced childhood abuse, neglect or some other form of trauma. Even more startling was their discovery that as the number of traumatic stressors increase in a child's life so does the likelihood that a child will face a multitude of health and social problems as he or she matures into adulthood.

Beginning with emotional, cognitive and social impairment, children whose early years are filled with violence, neglect or abuse are almost destined to a life handicapped by problems such as alcoholism, depression, domestic violence, obesity, suicide attempts and premature death.  That is unless these children, like Sammy, receive the help and healing they need to overcome the damage that has been done and reclaim their futures.

This year, over 500 children will walk through the doors of our trauma counseling program. Most of these kids, like Sammy, will have been assaulted by unspeakable violence, neglect or abuse. They will be anxious, worried and exhibit a range of behavioral problems.  Chances are they will suffer from frequent nightmares, an insidious reminder that the world they live in is fundamentally hostile and unsafe.  And, understandably, they will seldom smile.

Most of these children, 88%, when they leave our care will be transformed.  Thanks to your generosity and support, they will come to realize that the terrible things that happened to them is not who they are.  They will stop being anxious and afraid.  They will learn to sleep easily and to dream again. And chances are they will escape fate's lasting grip and grow into mature, healthy contributing adults who vow that the violence that they knew as a child will remain a disturbing memory and nothing more.

The cost of offering the 500 kids who come to us the chance to restore their futures runs about $700,000 a year or $1400 a child. But if you think that's a lot, compare $1400 to the estimated $1 million that tax payers will fork out to treat a chronically and persistently mentally ill adult over his lifetime or put a man in prison for 20 years or keep an abused child in foster care from age 3 to age 18!  No, healing isn't cheap, but it does matter - to all of us.  

Thank you for caring.

-David Braughton, President and CEO