{"id":1928,"date":"2017-04-05T19:47:33","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T23:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/daily-planet-arthur\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2017-04-05T19:47:33","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T23:47:33","slug":"saratoga-center-for-the-family-lends-awareness-to-child-abuse-prevention-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/daily-planet-arthur\/2017\/04\/saratoga-center-for-the-family-lends-awareness-to-child-abuse-prevention-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Saratoga Center for the Family Lends Awareness to Child Abuse Prevention Month"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nSARATOGA SPRINGS \u2013 Since 1983, the month of April has been designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month across the nation. Locally, Prevent Child Abuse flags will line Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs as a way of showing support and increasing local awareness. However, the agency highlighted on those flags, Saratoga Center for the Family, is committed to protecting children, preventing abuse, and strengthening families all year long.<\/p>\n
The Center offers a wide variety of services including mental health counseling, victims\u2019 services and advocacy, and educational and preventative programming. One upcoming program is Heel to Heal, which is a group for teenage girls that utilizes group counseling and walk\/run based therapy to increase self-esteem and empowerment. The program begins its 6th season on April 19th and spans 10 weeks, concluding with the group completing a 5K goal race. \u201c100% of our participants last year reported a decrease in depression and an increase in self-esteem,\u201d shared Kelly Daugherty, Clinical Director and creator of the program. \u201cThe friendships, mentorship from our volunteers, and simply the act of achieving something they didn\u2019t think they could \u2013 all have an incredible impact.\u201d<\/p>\n