Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Executive Director Claire Louge recently shared this article highlighting her take on what we can all do in uncertain times
The work of prevention is driven by the desire the protect children, to stop child abuse before it ever happens. But prevention isn’t just about avoiding harm—it’s also about creating the kind of world we want: one in which all children and families are living purposeful, happy lives with hope for the future.
People in our sector are feeling a lot of uncertainty lately. We are unsure how possible changes happening in our country will affect children and families, and how it will impact our work. It’s hard to know what to do with we think systems we’re part of might suddenly change.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how multiple different things can be true at once.
Last month, I read Dr. Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. Dr. Brown talks about the common human experience of “living in a paradox.” We live in paradox in which opposite things can be true.
Systems can help in some ways and harm in others. A person can have good intentions and self-serving ones. You can be lucky and also work hard. I can feel grief for world tragedies and be joyful when I play with my feisty toddler. Life often sucks and it is also wonderful.
It’s interminably true: different things are true all at once.
This notion gives me peace when I feel apprehension or grief. Nothing is just one thing. Seeing the joy and beauty in our lives and relationships is even more important when life feels unstable and unclear.
If you’re feeling a lot of upheaval right now, for professional, personal, or existential reasons, I hope that notion gives you a glimmer of hope, too.
For the past year, the team at Prevent Child Abuse Arizona has reflected on the fundamental things that could make possible our vision of a world in which all children and families live purposeful, happy lives with hope for the future. How do we create a world where parents can manage the stresses life and parenting brings? Where people can rely on one another for support? What does it mean to have a wonderful childhood?
When we ask these questions to ourselves and others, the answers carry a common theme: first and foremost, people need to feel they belong.
In other words, prevention made possible is belonging.
Belonging is a fundamental human need; it gives people access to the strength and safety needed to strive, to explore, and to flourish. When people feel they don’t belong, that can cause the deepest form of human pain, and most destructive of human behaviors.
Children need to belong. Families need to belong. You need to belong. We need to belong. Everything we are working to do boils down to cultivating a sense belonging. Nowadays—during this time of uncertainty—it feels more important than ever to focus on it. The world feels hungry for belonging.
That’s why we’re making it the theme of our 31st Child Abuse Prevention Conference: Prevention Made Possible is Belonging. All elements of our event—our keynote speakers, our workshop options, and our whole participant experience—will explore what it means to belong, and how we can belongingness into practice for ourselves, for our communities, and for the children and families we serve.
Belonging happens when people feel valued, seen, and accepted just as they are.
It thrives in supportive relationships—connections that provide comfort in hard times and savor the joy in good ones. Belonging exists in spaces where families feel supported, not judged; encouraged, not isolated; empowered, not controlled.
We are called to cultivate a sense of belonging in everything we do, and we invite you to join us in this mission. What can you do to help cultivate that sense of belonging for the families you know?
Editor’s Note: look for the Strong Families, Happy Kids column in every issue of Prescott Woman Magazine. It’s designed to support parents with actionable tips and strategies they can use to create optimal environments for their children to thrive. To learn more about Prevent Child Abuse Arizona’s mission and resources visit www.pcaaz.org