Silence is not an option

As published in the Metropolis newspaper:

There is nothing more important than the love and protection of our children. Day after day we hear stories on social media or by word of mouth about a child being sexually abused or online predators convincing your child to meet them. 

Kids can be mischievous and the fact is that they do not understand the danger that they are putting themselves in. It’s our responsibility to be ten steps ahead of them. 

As parents and guardians, you wholeheartedly believe that your child will come to you 100 percent of the time and tell you what is troubling them. Although that may be true in your household, that is a tiny percentage. 90 percent of children that are sexually abused will not confide in anyone because of fear, shame and embarrassment. 

It’s so important for all adults to educate themselves. Some of you may not even know how to start the conversation or you may not know at what age you should have the conversation on good touch, bad touch. 

These conversations can be scary for you to have, and I totally understand that. What’s not ok is continuing the toxic generational behavior of not saying anything and hoping our kids are safe. 

Now more than ever, especially in these times we have to step up for our children and let them know we are here. Even if you don’t have kids, you can still educate yourself. You may just save a child from potential abuse or you may see the signs right in front of your face. 

We must not walk away and say it is not my problem because actually it is as the saying goes (It takes a village). 

When I started my nonprofit Patrice’s Kids Inc. my mission was to bring awareness to child sexual abuse. As a survivor, I felt it was my duty to pay it forward. 

I had some angels along the way to help me. I’m now offering free child sexual abuse prevention trainings for any adult that wishes to be educated on how to protect a child and be aware of the signs of grooming, etc. 

I will add new training courses every month. Once you have completed all training courses, you will receive a certificate of completion. 

You can go out into your community and pay it forward by raising awareness. I also wanted to share my story of child sexual abuse, to give hope and healing to all survivors and how I fought to have a voice. 

I also wrote a book on my experiences entitled, The Unconscious Community. And, I dedicate this book to all survivors of abuse. You can find it on Amazon and all proceeds go to the nonprofit Patrice’s Kids, Inc.  

For more information on the adult training courses, please go to my website at PatricesKids.com to sign up and to learn more about the nonprofit. Let’s do all we can to protect our kids because one child being abused is too much. Patrice’s Kids Inc. is a 501c3 organization. 

Patrice’s Kids, Inc. accepts donations to go toward our mission of raising awareness and educating as many people as possible on the prevention of child sexual abuse.  

We also hold community events for single moms or dads and children in the foster care system. We invite you to visit our website at PatricesKids.com.