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SCAN celebrates the American Heart Association’s
Go Red For Women Day on Friday, Feb. 3.

 

Thank you Arden Companies

Thank you Arden Companies – you have helped us give parents the tools they need to care for their children.  These tools protect our little ones.  Their donation was presented to Lynn Noneman & Kyle Dever of SCAN by Teri Wine, Arden Companies Human Resources Executive.  Many thanks to Teri and Gary Furlow, Arden Companies Manufacturing Executive, for your ongoing support of SCAN.


Kids with Toys

Many thanks go to Harper Harris, right, and her cousin, Park, for packing hundreds of donated toys in bags for SCAN client children involved in the Joan Sherman Program for Resilient Children. Harper’s mother, Kelly Harris, serves on SCAN’s Campaign for Children Committee, and she, along with SCAN board member Kim Carpenter, sought donations of educational toys, crayons, scissors, games and coloring books. Monetary donations were also made by friends and business associates to purchase items for the children to use during visits with parents at SCAN.

Letter from Rachel

This has been a tough couple of weeks for all of us in the Fort Wayne community with the horrific death of Aliahna. This murder strikes fear in the hearts of all of us who have children or had children. Parents want their children to be safe. We are their protectors. It is a natural instinct.

Being a parent takes great self-discipline, energy and selflessness. It is the most rewarding job I have ever had, but it is also the hardest job I have ever had. We say it is the only job that is 24 -7-365-18. In other words, it is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for 18 years. Whether you are sick, stressed, heartbroken or worried, you are always still the parent. You have to be the adult. Parenting is hard work!

At the same time, parents are human. They get sick. They have life crises such as divorces, deaths of family, loss of jobs, financial woes. These life crises cause stress on a parent. It is often in these times of stress that parents struggle the most with parenting. The stress intensifies the job of a parent. It is at these times of stress that parents need help.

We at SCAN say that the sign of a good parent is someone who asks for help. The death of Aliahna will have many parents worried about how to find that help. Who is a safe person they can turn to? What can parents do to make sure they are getting assistance from someone they can trust? These are all good questions. Asking yourself these questions is the first thing you can do to make sure your children are safe for when you are not able to be their caregiver.

Second, make plans for stressful times when you are not in stress. Decide who you know now that parents like you do. Ask yourself how long you have known the person. Do you know others with children who know them? What have they said about the person? Have you seen them with children? How have they acted with children? The longer you know someone the better. The more you have observed someone care for other children or his or her own children appropriately the better off you are. The more you have heard good things about the person from others the more confidence you can have in the individual. Do not leave your children with someone you do not know well unless you have checked out references for them.

Form a co-op with other parents you know who are parents with good skills and judgment. Let them know you will watch their children when times are tough and ask them if they would do the same for you. Have several sets of parents in the co-op because at any time a reliable person may be going through stress of a job loss, illness, divorce or other family emergency. Maybe your church could form co-ops of parents that could watch each other’s children.

Single parents often struggle a lot with getting time away from parenting. So often we in the child abuse prevention field see a child who has been hurt, neglected or molested by a single parent’s new partner who they have not known long or well. We strongly encourage having other resources available to you such as family you have known or other parents you can trust. Take time to really know the person before you entrust them with your children. This is hard and limiting to a single parent. It is, however, so essential to assure your children are not hurt. Not everyone has good skills at handling children. Even nice people can struggle with the caring for children. Your children need you to be cautious.

Finally, if you are looking for child care while you work, The Early Childhood Alliance is a good place to start. Call them. If you have a crisis such as a personal illness or illness of a family member, suffer from postpartum depression, find that you are under so much stress you could hurt your children or leave them alone unprotected, call Daybreak Crisis Homes. You can call 421-5000, or after business hours and on weekends, 421 -5004. Daybreak Crisis homes are licensed foster parents who provide short-term respite for children at no cost to the parent. Daybreak providers have undergone thorough criminal background checks, are trained and complete annual continuing education.

Please reach out for help if you are a parent. As hard as it is to always be the adult, your child depends on you. Know, you are not alone! Help is available.

Rachel Tobin-Smith,MSW,LCSW
Executive Director
SCAN, Inc

Kelley Automotive Group Donates to SCAN in Honor of Aliahna Lemmon

Fort Wayne, IN, January 6, 2012:

The Kelley Automotive Group has announced that they will donate $1,000 to Stop Child Abuse & Neglect (SCAN), Inc. of Fort Wayne, in honor of the late Aliahna Lemmon.

“Aliahna’s story is obviously a tremendous tragedy,” says Kelley Automotive Group President Tom Kelley. “The entire community was shaken by this horrific crime. It’s our hope that everyone sees the relevance of working with organizations like SCAN to help protect innocent children.”

SCAN’s mission is to eliminate the abuse and neglect of children through education, family services and community collaboration. Founded by a group of volunteers in 1974, it is the only agency in the area whose mission is focused on prevention of child abuse and neglect. In 2011, SCAN served 28,560 children and adults in Allen and 8 surrounding counties as well as in nine additional northern Indiana counties.

Contributions to SCAN can be made to SCAN through the organization’s online donation system (http://www.scanfw.org/campaignforchildren) or by mail to: SCAN, 500 W. Main Street, Fort Wayne, IN, 46802