Thayer: Communities come together to help

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It’s amazing all the things a community can do to provide solutions to a problem that occurs behind closed doors.

This rings true with Prevent Child Abuse Kane County, a fundraising and educational group addressing a serious issue.

Lori Chassee is the director of the Child Advocacy Center, which investigates and prosecutes crimes against children.

She – along with the group’s president, Coroner Chuck West, and the other volunteers – works to fund programs that offer education for child abuse prevention programs.

One fundraiser is coming up this month. These events make it possible for the group to give $1,000 to $3,000 in grants a year to fund community-based programs.

I had no idea that there were so many ways that a community could support ways to address such a personal problem.

“It’s looked at as an overwhelming monster of a problem, and some of the approaches are sort of simple,” Chassee said.

The group’s events fund initiatives, such as teen-parenting classes, anger-management therapy, and even an infant-massage class. That technique gives parents a way to calm a fussy baby while also creating a bonding experience.

Beside prevention techniques, Chassee said awareness itself helped.

“It indicates to some people that there are resources out there they didn’t know existed, and it gives people the freedom to talk about it and reach out for assistance,” she said.

I hope so.

– Kate Thayer covers courts and can be reached at 630-845-5385, or by e-mail at kthayer@kcchronicle.com.