Amount of children coming to the center reporting abuse

Year 2001   47 children
Year 2002   53 children
Year 2003    61 children
Year 2004   67 children
Year 2005   77 children
Year 2006   105 children
Year 2007 104 children

Year 2008 168 children

Year 2009 174 children

 
The 2009 year has ended and the statistics are complete.   The number of children interviewed was the most in one year since Heart to Heart opened.  It was noted the average age of the child reporting abuse at the center was 10 years of age.  Of those interviewed at the NewtonCenter, 88 were female and 22 were male.
 
The 2009 year saw more children coming through the doors of Heart to Heart then ever before.   110 children came to Heart to Heart from Harvey and Marion County.  64 children came through the Heart to Heart office in McPherson.  A total of 174 children came through the Heart to Heart program. 

The community continues to support Heart to Heart and we send our thanks to every person who has given their time, support and money to help the children of our communities.

       
________________________________________________________________________

More and More children are becoming victims through the internet

Technology can be a wonderful tool and advancement for our society.  But technology can also bring into our very own homes, predators that seek our children as their victims.  On line child exploitation takes place everyday to any child that may enter a chat room or get on a computer and begin conversations with someone they may never see.  From a study by Wolak, Mitchell & Finkelhor in 2003 they found some startling statistics. One in five children received unwanted online requests to engage in sexual activities or to provide intimate sexual information. "25% of youth were exposed to unwanted online pornography.  Most of those unwanted exposures occurred while youth were surfing or searching the web, as a result of clicking on links or misspelling web addresses."  In 15% of those incidents, the solicitor attempted to contact the child in person, via telephone or by mail.  The study examined 2,577 arrests for internet sex crimes against minors during a 12 month period.  It was found that 97% of the offenders acted alone in the crime, 10% of those offenders had prior arrests for sexual offenses against minors, 67% possessed child pornography, 22% distributed child pornography, 27% solicited an undercover Officer.  44% of the offenders were between 26 and 39 years old, 40% were 40 years and older.  Of  the images of child pornography that has been sent out on the internet, 82% of the images were of children between the ages of 6 and 12.  These number are very worrisome to parents of young children who have access to the web.  Worse, though, are the predators known as "travelers".  Travelers hunt  in Yahoo, AOL and MSN chat rooms.  They hunt the websites for teen chats.  They will engage young children into chatting with them and attempt to set up a time and place where they may meet them.  Hence the term, "Traveler".  Travelers are extremely dangerous, they may promise gifts, and attention, but the meeting usually results is a sexual abuse crime.  Travelers will come from anywhere in the United States if they are able to set up a meeting with a child. It is vital that parents monitor what their children are doing when they are on the computer.  Some steps that can help with that kind of monitoring is to keep the computer where parents can observe it.  It's not a good idea to let a child have access to a computer in their own room.  Parents can check the history on the computer to see where their child has been going on the webb.  This is not to be confused with an invasion of privacy, it should be looked at as a proactive approach to what their child could possibly become a victim of. 
*If you, as a parent, should discover your child has been in contact with a predator on the webb, notify the Police Department, do not allow your child  continual contact and if need be, take the computer off line. Education and awareness is key to prevention of these kind of crimes.  Communicate with your children, open a dialog with them.  You are the ones your children should be chatting with, not the predators on the webb.                                                                                Sheriff T. Walton

LINKS

Registered Sex Offenders

A new site has become available to view registered Offenders in Harvey County.  By going to the Harvey County Web site and clicking on the Sheriff's Department, you will be able to navigate through the "Offender Watch Program"  This program shows you all the registered Offenders in Harvey County along with where they live.  You can enter your email address and as soon as an offender is registered, an email will be sent out to you showing you where the offender is living in proximity to your home. Sheriff Walton uses the "Offender Watch" program as a tool and a helpful aid to the citizens of Harvey County.

We are often asked where to go on the world wide web to locate where convicted sexual offenders are living.  One web site that will provide home addresses of those convicted is the KBI web site.  By typing in www.kansas.gov/kbi/ro.shtml you can search any City or County in Kansas.


An interesting link to a story of abuse and cover up of a Catholic Priest
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/handofgod/view/

A nice link to a Center in Oklahoma
www.kidsonfirst.com

A link to Kansas largest Child Advocacy Center
www.sunflowerhouse.org

Good information on child abuse and child issues
www.safehorizon.com

This site provides information on Early Childhood development through scientific reseach
www.developingchild.net

The Ryans have continued to support Heart to Heart, a great couple.  They own a business called "Those Blasted Signs" excellent quality work
www.thoseblastedsigns.com

From the Executive Director’s Desk

THE DIRECTOR'S  COLUMN

    This year has been one of tremendous growth for Heart to Heart.  The National Children*s Alliance accreditation and the opening of the Center in McPherson have been major accomplishments.  The McPherson center is now taking cases and providing services in that county.  The linkages between Harvey, Marion and McPherson counties are healthy ones for a number of reasons.  The opening of the McPherson Center adds more professionals with good ideas and expertise at investigating and prosecuting physical and sexual abuse cases.  Other professionals who understand the impact of abuse on child development and add their knowledge of medical and mental health issues to be resolved for abused children.

    In building the Heart to Heart organization we have critical needs to be met.
Victim support and individual therapy are costly endeavors but well worth it in terms of return on investment.  Research shows that an abused child who receives support and therapy is less likely to become a juvenile offender or to act out in a destructive manner.  Please consider a significant financial gift to help us meet the mental health needs of abused children.  Other ways that would be helpful is for you to join our *FRIENDS* family and help us with a FUN- Raiser that will bring resources to Heart to Heart. 

    As we begin the holiday season, I am reminded of the opportunities we have to help abused children and how stewardship benefits the giver as much as the receiver.  Our gifts come back to us in many forms.  Primarily, giving for the benefit of others adds meaning and purpose to our lives.  Given a choice, most of us would choose families with ample resources and good health in a country with a family-friendly form of government.  But we know, children do not get to choose the circumstances they are born into or the individuals who may cross their path and cause them to need the services of Heart to Heart. 
From the Honor The Circle materials that we use at our support circles, I ask that you:  

    **provide a peaceful and safe home for your family; 
    **create peaceful communities so that we all may live in harmony;
    ** resist addictions that hurt us and our families;
    ** seek education and knowledge, and the opportunities they bring; 
    **be responsible with money, so that it brings peace to the household and not turmoil;
    **care for all children, for they have joy to give us, and respect elders, for they have wisdom to give us; 
    **share your heritage and traditions with others, especially the young;
    **be respectful of your heritage and honor your culture as well as that of others;
    **live connected to all of life for the joy of it.

PEACE
Marlene K. Lemmer Beeso