When 3-year-old Eli Creekmore was beaten and killed by his father in 1986, the community was not only angry and horrified, many people were tormented by the fact that they could not rescue him. The desire to turn back the clock and save that precious boy haunted many.
Eli’s tragic death reminded us that child abuse was a real problem in our society, but it was not the last time we would hear about such brutal — even fatal — treatment of children. Twelve-year-old Mathew Parsons made the headlines in 1991 after his father and father’s girlfriend battered him into a coma. Mathew died of his injuries in 1997. And it was just three years ago when 8-year-old Jesse Chimienti was shot in the head by his father, who then turned the gun on himself. It seems like the news is filled with stories of children who wind up in the hospital with burned, bitten and battered bodies. Considering that 2,000 cases of child abuse are reported each year in Snohomish County alone, that should come as no surprise.
While we can’t save the children who are already gone, we can do our best to help those youngsters who are suffering right now or who might become victims by getting them out of dangerous situations and helping their parents and the other adults in their lives learn better coping and anger management skills.
Deaconess Children’s Services, whose workers served more than 1,200 adults and children in 2003, is hosting its first fund drive this month to raise $50,000. The drive was kicked off on April 2 with a rally at the Everett Events Center. Area businesses will be selling "keep kids safe" buttons to help raise money and the effort will be polished off with a block walk on April 24 in downtown Everett.
Of particular focus this month is the issue of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and child abuse prevention workers are trying to reach out to men ages 18 to 25 to educate them about it. Stories of infants who have been victims of brain damage caused by violent shaking have made headlines in our county, too.
Getting to know our neighbors and our children’s friends is one way to help our community heal and prevent tragedies. But it takes the expertise and dedication of agencies such as Deaconess Children’s Services and many other child advocate organizations to improve our community for all children.
The more we support such organizations with our time and money, the less time we may have to spend wishing we could turn back the clock to save one more child.
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