BOSTON, MA – (April 28, 2016) – Earlier this month at the Massachusetts State House, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Today, at Faneuil Hall, the Children’s Trust, a Massachusetts organization on a mission to stop child abuse, drew hundreds of supporters to bring attention to the fact that one child is confirmed as abused or neglected an average of every fifteen minutes in Massachusetts.

“We are all here today because we care about children and want to keep them safe,” said Robin Boorstein, Deputy Director of the Children’s Trust. "Ending child abuse is within our reach if we have the will and commitment to do so. Together, it is possible to stop child abuse.”

At the event, each of the hundreds of participants held a card that’s message was indecipherable on its own. Together, participants simultaneously held up their cards to reveal a clear, visual message that read: Let’s stop child abuse!

Evaluations show that Children’s Trust programs are effective. In fact, a rigorous Tufts University study of the organization’s Healthy Families program found that the program reduces the use of corporal punishment, increases the use of non-violent discipline, decreases parents’ engagement in risky behavior, including substance abuse, and decreases rates of homelessness and maternal depression, all while improving children’s executive function and increasing parents’ educational attainment.

“It’s going to take all of us – individuals, businesses, legislators, everyone – to end child abuse and neglect in Massachusetts,” according to Ryan Hutchins, Senior Vice President at Gilbane Building Co. and Chair of the Children’s Trust Board of Directors. “What I’ve learned through my time with the Children’s Trust is that there are effective programs that work. We must fully support those programs if we want to keep Massachusetts children safe.”   

about the children's trust

The Children’s Trust is on a mission to stop child abuse in Massachusetts. Our programs partner with parents to help them build the skills and confidence they need to make sure kids have safe and healthy childhoods. For more information on the organization and its programs, visit www.childrenstrustma.org.