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Anti-child Abuse Program Developed in County Is Going National

By Joan Kern
Lancaster Online
June 1, 2013

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/856171_Anti-child-abuse-program-developed-in-county-is-going-national.html

Linda Crockett, director of education and consultation at

When the Rev. Deb Helt's granddaughter was born 26 months ago, the pastor vowed that little Emma would be safe -- and know about her body.

So two years ago she helped lead the yearlong Safe Church Project: Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse at Hosanna! A Fellowship of Christians, in Lititz, where she serves as pastor of congregational life. Hosanna was among nine congregations in that first Safe Church Project.

Last year Helt shadowed Linda Crockett, director of education and consultation at the Samaritan Counseling Center, who developed and designed the project, as Crockett led nine more congregations and the Warwick Released Time Program through the project. In those two years, Safe Church reached 3,000 children and 3,800 adults.

Now this year, Helt will take over for Crockett locally while Crockett takes the project on the road to three locations across the country.

From Aug. 28-30, Crockett and Helt will attend a national sexual abuse conference in Hollywood, Calif., where they will lead a workshop on the project.

"It started as a tiny project in Lancaster. Now it's national," Crockett says.

"It's God's work," Helt adds. "It's vital work. I felt called to do it."

This year's local project will begin at the Parish Resource Center, 633 Community Way, from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 15. Five churches are enrolled, with room for three more.

For more information, call Crockett at 560-9991 or go to scclanc.org/safechurch.htm.

(Although the website lists the deadline as May 31, Crockett said applications will be accepted until enrollment is full.)

The project began with a $20,000 grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women, Minneapolis.

Recently the secular foundation awarded another grant, this one for $105,500, for Crockett to lead three-day workshops in New York, Oregon and North Carolina this year, with more locations next year.

Also, Elizabeth Soto, a professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary, and Crockett will teach a five-day course on the project at the seminary next June.

According to the Safe Church brochure, one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before age 18. Eighty-five percent of the abusers are not strangers.

 

 

 

 

 




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