Sunflower House: Protecting Our Children and Youth From Abuse

Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across all ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. Research says that 1 in 10 children will be the victim of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday and for every one child that reports sexual abuse, two cases will go unreported.

As a local child-abuse prevention and accredited Children’s Advocacy Center serving Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, Sunflower House’s mission is to protect children in the community from physical and sexual abuse. Since 1977, Sunflower House has addressed abuse and neglect through a comprehensive approach, engaging children, parents, child-serving professionals and the community.

Sunflower House offers a variety of programs and services for children and families affected by abuse and neglect. These programs range from providing a safe place to disclose abuse allegations, providing resources and support during legal processes, assisting in scheduling specialized medical evaluations, and offering free crisis intervention and follow-up therapy.

In addition to helping children and families who have experience abuse, Sunflower House offers abuse prevention education in the community. Staff immerses themselves in the community and offers education for children, educators, parents, professionals and congregations with the goal to end child sexual abuse. Sunflower House helps youth identify indicators of abuse, encourages self-reporting and educates parents and caregivers on how to protect their children from abuse and to act responsibly in reporting child abuse. Lessons and curriculum cover personal safety, self-esteem, peer abuse, sexual harassment, communication skills, mandated reporter training and parent-child activities. ■

Written by: Shannon Moriarty

Wear Blue Week
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and here’s an easy and effective way to participate. Pick a week in April for your business or group to “Wear Blue” to help spread awareness about child abuse prevention. Participants pay $5 per day to wear jeans, blue business or casual attire to work, school, dance class, church or other designated activities. Money raised will go directly to help Sunflower House provide abuse prevention programs in more than 170 schools in Johnson and Wyandotte counties this year.  Help bring programming to over 17,000 children, teaching them to recognize, resist and report abuse! For more details please contact Shannon Moriarty at smoriarty@sunflowerhouse.org or 913-631-5800.