Thank you Tum Tum Tree Foundation

Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services Newsletter
Volume 1 Issue Fall 2011
Children's Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS Center) is
a place where child abuse victims can come for help and healing. In 2010, the staff at CHIPS saw approximately 257 children for medical exams and provided over 1300 counseling sessions to both children and their families. CHIPS has treated over 4500 victims of child abuse since 1995. The CHIPS
Center provides child counseling services, play therapy, forensic medical exams, psychosocial assessments, prevention education, counseling for non-offending caregivers, social work services, and court
support at no cost to the families.
It is estimated that there are 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America today.
The statistics are shocking:
• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 18.
• 1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on the internet.
• Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults occur to children ages 17 and under.
• Long term effects of child abuse include fear, anxiety, depression, anger, hostility, inappropriate sexual
behavior, poor self esteem, tendency toward substance abuse and difficulty with close relationships.
Consequences of child abuse begin affecting children and families immediately. They also affect society
in innumerable and negative ways. These effects continue throughout the life of the survivor, so the impact on society for just one survivor continues over multiple decades. Try to imagine the impact of 39
million survivors.
Thank you Tum Tum Tree Foundation
The TumTum Tree Foundation is a non-profit corporation that raises
funds through a public wine tasting, silent auction and live auction held annually
in Birmingham, Alabama. These funds are used to support other charities dedicated to Alabama children with chronic life-threatening and some life-altering
conditions. The TumTum Tree Foundation conducts an annual review of the
charities it supports.
The CHIPS clinic is thankful to be selected
as one of the charities the Tum Tum Tree supports.
It is through generous donations like these that we
are able to continue to provide free medical exams
and counseling services to victims and their families.
If you would like information about the Tum
Tum Tree wine event, please visit their website
http://www.tumtumtreefoundation.org
From Deb’s Desk...
My husband had this great and crazy idea for our Spring Break
trip. Instead of the usual beach or mountain trip he asked me if I
wanted to swim with the manatees. Manatees???? In a tank
like at Sea World-I asked??? No in their natural habitat he exclaimed.
So in a couple of weeks I dealt with the humiliation of not only
wearing a bathing suit but also getting into a wet suit in front of
strangers! Before getting on the boat all the manatee seekers
had to watch an instructional video. The video not only highlighted that manatees were an endangered species but we had to
learn ―Manatee Manners‖-how to act around the creatures!
You cannot approach a manatee-the manatee has to approach
you.
You can only touch a manatee with one hand.
You cannot approach a sleeping manatee.
You cannot chase a manatee.
You cannot come between a mother and baby.
You cannot feed manatee.
You cannot cross certain boundary areas.
Your boat must be on idle speed.
Deb Schneider, MSW became
the Director of the CHIPS
Center in 2010. She has been
working with child abuse
victims and their families
for 30 years.
Her passion is working
towards the prevention of
child abuse.
I thought to myself that there is a big trust issue because
how can all those rules really be enforced. Well, the captains and the tour guides enforce them along with the video
cameras, potential fines and jail time. There are manatee
watch groups that are out in the waters. If this isn’t enough,
the Coast Guard has officers patrolling as well. There are signs posted everywhere asking the public to
report any abuse of the manatees.
As I swam with these beautiful gentle giants I thought to myself –If we treated our children like an endangered species would children’s victimization decrease? If we followed the manatee manners rulescould sexual abuse end?
Think about it with me. There are rules for manatees about appropriate touching and personal boundaries, not offering things like inappropriate food, or separating a
manatee from their appropriate caregiver.
And these rules/laws are enforced by authorities, caring watch
groups and the public.
Unfortunately even with the laws and fines– we witnessed a manatee being abused from the shore. Some tourists in a rented boat
were chasing a manatee and almost hit it with their boat.
And yes, due to the education we received about protecting manatees we recognized the threat of danger and inappropriate behavior
and knew how to make a report. One phone call and a few minutes
of our time and hopefully we helped the manatee.
We were told that the manatee are still an endangered species but
with all the new protective measures the manatee population has increased more than three times in the
area we visited.
With increased child abuse prevention education, enforcement of laws protecting children and people’s
willingness to report suspected abuse, maybe we could see the amount of child abuse decrease times
three in our area.
Promoting Prevention of Child
Abuse Schaeffer Crawfish Boil
If you are interested
in prevention
education or
fundraising,
please contact
CHIPS at
205-558-2751
CHIPS table for the 8th Annual
Child Abuse Prevention Fun Day
Mountain Brook KD Alumnae
Chapter top donation for Child
Abuse Awareness month
Jubilee Joe’s Crawfish Boil
Child Abuse Awareness Month
Log A Load has supported
CHIPS since 1995
Tommy Moose Comforts Kids In Traumatic Situations
Moose International Donates to
CHIPS Center
Who knew a 12-inch-tall plush animal
could have such a grand impact? The
men and women of the Moose know—
as they reach a milestone later this
year of having made available their
100,000th Tommy Moose to a child
who could really use a source of comfort.
The Tommy Moose program, sponsored by Moose International, provides the plush dolls to police officers, firefighters, and ambulance personnel all over North America. They keep the plush dolls in their vehicles, ready to be given to children
when the children or their families are involved in fires, accidents or other traumatic situations. This fall,
the local chapter of Moose International provided the CHIPS Center with Tommy Moose stuffed animals.
Tommy Moose is given to the children who come in for a medical examination to help ease the anxiety
of the abuse and provide comfort to the children. www.mooseintl.org or www.tommymoose.org.
Mrs. Louise Clyce was a CHIPS volunteer for only four years but will forever be part of the CHIPS family. I believe each team member of CHIPS could
possibly have a different term to describe her and the role she demonstrated
each day she came to work with us. She was a force of nature; a woman who
carried grace, a beautiful smile and love for each patient and family that walked
through our door. Ms. Louise eluded compassion and humility for everyone who
knew her. As a volunteer, she could play school as well as any other playmate;
she could color and become a child's buddy in an instant all while consoling an
anxious patient. But for us, she was a dear friend who captured our hearts with
her kindness, patience, and tenacity for life. We will truly miss her presence at
CHIPS but will continue to honor her spirit of love, compassion and humility.
By: Alisha Turner, Social Work Assistant
CHIPS Center
1600 5th Avenue South, Suite 100
Birmingham, AL 35233
http://chips.childrensal.org