An area nonprofit that sees first hand the impact child abuse has on Butler and Ripley county communities and wants to help these areas go blue in April to raise awareness.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, said program director Michael Turner, of Great Circle, formerly the Ozark Family Resource Agency.
The agency includes a child advocacy center that conducts forensic interviews with children for law enforcement in suspected abuse cases or after a child has witnessed violence. Advocates then work with children and families long-term to provide mental health resources and other support, Turner said.
The organization has 1,000 blue pinwheels available in both Ripley and Butler counties for residents to display at their homes and businesses, and is selling Heroes Go Blue T-shirts in support of child abuse prevention awareness, Turner said. Proceeds will help fund the agency's work, he said.
Go Blue Day is April 6.
Pinwheels are available, while supplies last, at the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and the Prospect News in Doniphan, Mo. To order a T-shirt for $10-$15, contact Great Circle at 573-785-0544 or 573-996-2648.
Great Circle works with families well after the initial forensic interview is conducted, serving up to 500 families a month, according to Turner.
Advocates stay with children through any prosecution and court process, as well as while they try to rebuild their lives. The child advocacy center conducts about 190 forensic interviews a year.
"I don't really see the cases. I see the faces of the kids we serve. I see the families that we serve," he said. "They've always got that searching look, because they're looking for that normal that they lost. They're always looking for somebody to help them."
Families lives are flipped upside down, and advocates try to help them get on the right road, he said.
"Their families are trying to be their voice, because they don't have one," Turner said. "If we can become their voice too, with their families, then that's how children get their success story. Getting them to a healthy place where they can thrive and they can flourish, that's what it's all about."
Great Circle also sees children impacted by violence in the families that come to its shelter in Doniphan, or seek out housing resources through other programs.
About 150 women and children are served by the shelter each year, some staying for a few days and others for up to a month.
"I try not to focus on the abuse," Turner said. "I try to focus on the happy and healthy that can come out of everything we do.
"Every day we're making a difference. This non-profit is making a difference in the families' lives and that's what it's all about"
The statewide behavioral health nonprofit Great Circle merged with Ozark Family Resource Agency in November 2017.