ELDORADO (WSIL) -- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.Ìý
According to the CDC at least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the last year.Ìý
What most of us think of as a childhood toy turned into how important it is to keep kids safe.Ìý
"Kids are here, they're safe they're having fun, playing and playing with each other," said Matt Buckman with the Stress and Trauma Treatment Center.Ìý
"It's important to give people the skills to be able to reduce trauma that has been passed on to us such as abuse maybe that we suffered from or anxieties that we suffer from. So it's a way to empower parents so we don't pass along these externalizing behaviors that have been passed along to us."
According to the CDC nearly 1800 children died of abuse and neglect in the U.S.
The pinwheel serves as a symbol of hope that every child can be raised in healthy, safe and nurturing environments.
"Really just wanted to bring an event to raise awareness for child abuse prevention we've got CASA here, we've got a lot of our child serving agencies here tonight and we just want to have a fun time with the kids," said Egyptian Health Marketing Manager Holly Kotner.Ìý
More than 100 people showing up to in Eldorado doing just that.
"What we find is that people suffer kind of an unspoken way so when we can we want to be aware of it and get people connected to the right resources and supports," said Buckman.Ìý
Supports readily available in Mahoney Park Thursday.
For more information about parent-child interaction therapy .Ìý
