WTEN: Local Students Given Safety Lessons to Learn How to Spot, Prevent Child Abuse
St. Peter’s Crime Victim Services, based at Samaritan Hospital, isn’t just focused on helping victims of crimes; it’s also dedicated to preventing people — especially children — from becoming victims.
As part of their services, the department conducts education and training programs in schools and other community sites across the Capital Region to promote awareness and personal safety.
WTEN featured this program as part of its coverage of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which was in April.
Prevention education and community liaison Adriana D’Orazio was interviewed for the report and spoke about how the program helps to empower children.
From the story:
Child abuse prevention is critically important. New York state has mandated all public schools to provide abuse prevention education in all grades through Erin’s Law, which was enacted in 2019.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the St. Peter’s Crime Victim Services unit has been visiting local schools to teach children important safety lessons. St. Peter’s Prevention Educator and Community Liaison Adriana D’Orazio expertly tackled some tough topics on Friday with a fourth grade class at Birchwood Elementary in Niskayuna.
- Know what’s up
- Spot Red Flags
- Make a move
- Talk it up
- No blame/no shame
“It’s a great program because it really empowers kids to use their voice to get help,” said D’Orazio.
Using the MBF Child Safety Matters program, an evidence based curriculum, D’Orazio gives students language to identify physical and sexual abuse and spot red flags. Student Eliana Masambo was listening closely and said, “I think this lesson is important because there are people out there who don’t do the right things, and people need to be safe, and they need to know how to do that properly.”
Click here to watch WTEN’s full report.
