To the editor:

If we can end slavery in this country, we can end child abuse. If we can stop polio, we can stop child fatalities. There’s no War Between the States for children’s rights, and there’s no vaccine against mean people. So how can we do this? If we all agree that hurting children is bad for our community, how can we create a community where children won’t get hurt?

The Darkness to Light Stewards of Children training has excellent ideas, and the three trainings offered at Steps to Hope will be followed by discussion. Any one of three times can be chosen: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15; 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, June 17; or 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 18.

Child sexual abuse is an epidemic that directly affects 20 percent of our country’s children. We’ll talk about when to intervene, and how; signs and invisible scars; prevention, detection and appropriate response.

It isn’t the most pleasant topic for a pretty summer day, but together, we will bring more sunshine into the lives of children and teens in our town.

As a forensic interviewer, I have listened to children and teens as they told the details of terrible crimes. The details aren’t appropriate for a family newspaper. Suffice to say that this crime must end, and every single one of us can do something to make it end. Becoming a Steward of Children is a significant step.

You’re invited to the Darkness to Light Stewards of Children training of your choice, so you can be part of the beginning of the end of childhood sexual abuse in our town.

– Kiesa Kay,

Tryon