Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1: It is time now for our community connection right here
Speaker 1: on KAY one, the one you trust, and it's always
Speaker 1: great to talk with our friends here from Ray of Hope.
Speaker 2: Ladies, how are we doing today? We're good, Well, you're
Speaker 2: always good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but today it's kind of acceptable because we have
Speaker 1: a month that's dedicated to awareness and education.
Speaker 3: It absolutely is. We're celebrating two awareness months this year,
Speaker 3: or for this April, and it's Child Abuse Prevention Month
Speaker 3: and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so those are both tied
Speaker 3: to April, and we're excited to get the word out
Speaker 3: about both of those.
Speaker 1: And when it comes to outreach and outcomes, your miseducation
Speaker 1: are ye yeah.
Speaker 4: I am. I'm actually excited.
Speaker 5: I'm going to have two I'm posting about them later
Speaker 5: today on Facebook, so you can sign up there. It's
Speaker 5: two learning events April eighth and the twenty second at
Speaker 5: Bartiswell Public Library. We're just to talk about learning to
Speaker 5: recognize and how to report child abuse.
Speaker 1: Now everyone would think, oh, well that's easy. Kid's got
Speaker 1: a like a you know, a fat lip or a
Speaker 1: black eye, or something's just not right, but there are
Speaker 1: subtle signs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there really can be. And if you're not, if
Speaker 3: you're not sure what you're looking for, or if you
Speaker 3: suspect something and you're not sure what to do next,
Speaker 3: these types of educational opportunities that you see is offering
Speaker 3: can really help you strengthen your awareness and strengthen your
Speaker 3: resolved to do something if you suspect child abuse. And
Speaker 3: in Oklahoma, everyone is a mandated reporter of child abuse.
Speaker 2: You bet.
Speaker 1: Now, sometimes the abuse isn't always physical. A lot of
Speaker 1: times it's internal, it's mental, it's almost spiritual. Somebody gets
Speaker 1: wounded that way, right, It kind of starts that way.
Speaker 2: Doesn't it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so we see a lot of cases of neglect
Speaker 5: as well. So, like you said, it's not always physical.
Speaker 5: You're not always going to just see physical signs. But
Speaker 5: we're also going to teach you how to look out
Speaker 5: for perhaps those you know, behavior changes signs like are
Speaker 5: they withdrawn? Have they gone from a cheery, happy child
Speaker 5: to perhaps somebody who's more recluse and private about their things.
Speaker 5: But yeah, it's important to know how to look for
Speaker 5: all signs of every type of abuse.
Speaker 1: And because we're trying to bring awareness to this, not
Speaker 1: only are we having some of the classes here, we've
Speaker 1: got a little something that you can symbolize that you're
Speaker 1: paying attention.
Speaker 2: What is that?
Speaker 3: Actually, we're doing a couple of different a couple of things.
Speaker 3: So today YOCI is installing a display at the barrels
Speaker 3: of a public library so that people can can see
Speaker 3: that and learn a little bit more. So have some
Speaker 3: information at the library too. And then we're planting a
Speaker 3: pinwheel garden again this year, and we're planting the same
Speaker 3: number of pinwheels that are that represent the number of
Speaker 3: confirmed cases in our service area.
Speaker 1: My goodness, here's hoping that it's not a whole lot
Speaker 1: of pinwheels.
Speaker 5: Well, it's three hundred and seventy eight, so it's quite
Speaker 5: a big number, which is why these education opportunities are
Speaker 5: so important. And you'll hear me say this in the class,
Speaker 5: went a doubt? Just let DHS screen it out right.
Speaker 5: So like I'm just here to give you the tools
Speaker 5: to be able to recognize and show you how to report.
Speaker 4: We have the pinwheel garden.
Speaker 5: It'll be at Ry of Hope by our buffalo the
Speaker 5: library display and then on our Facebook as well, we
Speaker 5: have a post with yard signs if you want to
Speaker 5: display a yard sign just to kind of bring awareness
Speaker 5: as people are driving by, go ahead and comment on
Speaker 5: that post and I can drive one.
Speaker 4: Out to you.
Speaker 1: Now, the thing is, you mentioned that number, well in
Speaker 1: exens of three hundred. I think we all know in
Speaker 1: this room that that's probably not even half right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: absolutely mine getting the sakes And we'd like to think that, well,
Speaker 1: this doesn't happen in my count this doesn't happen in
Speaker 1: my neighborhood, and this doesn't happen in.
Speaker 2: You know, my circle of friends or family. Yeah, it does.
Speaker 3: And what we know is that abuse happens often with
Speaker 3: people that kids know and trust, and so that makes
Speaker 3: it even more difficult sometimes to come forward and make
Speaker 3: a report because you don't want to accuse somebody that
Speaker 3: you know or a friend of the family. And so
Speaker 3: it really underscores the importance of learning those signs and
Speaker 3: being ready to act if you suspect abuse.
Speaker 1: And that can just internally crush a youngster's knowing that
Speaker 1: they've been wrong, the feeling that they're going to be
Speaker 1: in trouble for even bringing it up and trying to
Speaker 1: save their own lives.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: We can't imagine.
Speaker 5: That, right, which is something that we talk about we
Speaker 5: touch on on the training is how to kind of
Speaker 5: navigate that conversation when it comes up. So when a
Speaker 5: child discloses to you, you know, there's d's and don'ts,
Speaker 5: and that's something that we go over because it's such
Speaker 5: a delicate time. We want to ensure that we're best
Speaker 5: equipped possible to deal with it.
Speaker 2: My goodness sakes, Ray of Hope. It's been around a while.
Speaker 3: We are celebrating our twentieth year of serving kids and
Speaker 3: families this year.
Speaker 2: Congratulation.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're excited and we are really really proud of
Speaker 3: the work that we've done over the past twenty years.
Speaker 1: And you should be, because not only do you educate
Speaker 1: and facilitate, but you also work to get people to
Speaker 1: where they can get.
Speaker 2: Services kind of a clearinghouse or our central hub, absolutely,
Speaker 2: and you can get folks where they need to go, right.
Speaker 3: We work really hard to be, like you said, that
Speaker 3: central place that kids and families can go and get
Speaker 3: all of the services that they need to kind of
Speaker 3: wrap around that family so the family gets support and
Speaker 3: then the child gets the support they need so they
Speaker 3: can move towards healing.
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness sakes, Now, We've got an event. I
Speaker 1: think we did we mention the PASCO.
Speaker 5: Event, not yet, so I'm going to be out at
Speaker 5: least twice in the community. It's a very We're partnering
Speaker 5: with os AH Nation Social Services and they're having event
Speaker 5: an event on the twenty fifth of April, which is
Speaker 5: a Friday, and we'll be out there. It's just going
Speaker 5: to be like a cute little carnivalesque type event for
Speaker 5: kids with games. So we're excited to be out there.
Speaker 5: But we're really excited about Here's the Scoop, which we
Speaker 5: did last year and we're doing again this year thanks
Speaker 5: to Muslim and Abstract and Jared's Custard, where kids under
Speaker 5: eighteen can go out and get a free Sunday Wow
Speaker 5: and get some literature on body safety and just information
Speaker 5: for parents as well.
Speaker 4: So we're really excited.
Speaker 2: My goodness sakes, putting on the dog, I know.
Speaker 3: She's gonna have to take the whole next month.
Speaker 2: Yeah, everybody, But it's all to raise awareness.
Speaker 1: Here is we tried to prevent child abuse by identifying
Speaker 1: and then you know, you guys take care of the
Speaker 1: next steps. But boy, that that is a tome. Sometimes
Speaker 1: people are having a bad day. Sometimes the kids are
Speaker 1: having a bad day, and sometimes that all gets acted out,
Speaker 1: maybe in a public place, and you're thinking to yourself,
Speaker 1: my goodness sake, so this has to stop. This can't
Speaker 1: escalate anymore. But you don't want to be, you know,
Speaker 1: a nosey eight. Sure, you don't want to you know,
Speaker 1: be a nervous nelly, And you put all these things
Speaker 1: on yourself and you say, I'm just gonna let them
Speaker 1: deal with it, right, And then sometimes you probably should have, yeah,
Speaker 1: intervened with a phone call.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And sometimes it's hard to know what to do.
Speaker 3: And I do think that's why training opportunities like what
Speaker 3: Yosi's doing this month are so important. And I tell
Speaker 3: people all the time, especially when I do training, and
Speaker 3: I think yos does too. If you have questions about it,
Speaker 3: you're always welcome to call us and talk through a
Speaker 3: scenario and say, hey, I saw this, I'm not sure
Speaker 3: what to do. I usually tell people, if you are
Speaker 3: concerned enough to call me and ask whether or not
Speaker 3: you know you should report abuse, that you probably already
Speaker 3: know the answer, but sometimes it helps to just talk
Speaker 3: it out. But it's so important to do that first
Speaker 3: step of making that report so that we.
Speaker 2: Can ensure that a child is safe.
Speaker 3: I think sometimes we get hung up on we don't
Speaker 3: want to accuse somebody of doing something or hurting a child,
Speaker 3: and we try to remind people you're not accusing anyone
Speaker 3: of anything. You're just asking professionals to come in and
Speaker 3: evaluate the safety of a child. And if that child's safe,
Speaker 3: then we're excited, we're happy, and.
Speaker 4: Everything is fine.
Speaker 3: If that child's not safe, then you've alerted the professionals
Speaker 3: that need to get involved.
Speaker 1: It's so key to remember, like you said, it's bad
Speaker 1: enough that you feel like you have to call you
Speaker 1: called the age, Yeah, wow, report that. Well, you know
Speaker 1: these education opportunities that you're going to be providing. This
Speaker 1: want folks to check out your Facebook and website and
Speaker 1: make sure you get to one of them if you can,
Speaker 1: and also tell your friends, neighbors, and family members about
Speaker 1: this too, because over three hundred, it's just weigh that.
Speaker 2: Yeah too many.
Speaker 4: Absolutely one is too many.
Speaker 1: One is too many. But you know when you said
Speaker 1: three hundred some, that took me back. I figured, you know,
Speaker 1: we have a handful, but that's that's a lot of
Speaker 1: hands for right, Yeah, that's that's way the heck too much?
Speaker 1: Where can we find out more about that? Ray of
Speaker 1: Hope Advocacy So you got a website, don't you?
Speaker 4: We do? I know you do, Yeah, we do.
Speaker 3: It's Ray of Hope ac dot org. We're pretty active
Speaker 3: on social media and so you can find us at
Speaker 3: Ray of Hope Advocacy Center on Facebook and Instagram. YOC
Speaker 3: does a great job of posts ask yes she is
Speaker 3: and she she's doing a great job of putting information
Speaker 3: out about Ray of Hope resources for child abuse and
Speaker 3: domestic violence survivors, because of course we also serve adult
Speaker 3: survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault as well, and
Speaker 3: so there's a lot of great resources and information on
Speaker 3: our social media.
Speaker 1: There are a lot of people when it comes to
Speaker 1: the adults. They sometimes would say, well, they're concerning adults
Speaker 1: know what they're getting into all a lot?
Speaker 3: God, I know they didn't there, right, And what we
Speaker 3: know is sometimes those patterns of abuse that kids experience
Speaker 3: in childhood can set us up for failure in adult
Speaker 3: relationships too, right. And so that's why it's so important
Speaker 3: for us to get those reports and then provide the
Speaker 3: resources and supports that kids need so that they can
Speaker 3: break those cycles. We can help families as they're learning
Speaker 3: about healthy relationships and making safe choices for everybody in
Speaker 3: the home.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 1: So I'm learning now that some of this patterns of
Speaker 1: behavior generational.
Speaker 3: Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's not the kind of family right stuff you want.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And if you you know, if you grew up
Speaker 3: in a home when there wasn't safe parenting, you don't
Speaker 3: don't know the difference, and so you kind of fall back.
Speaker 2: We all do.
Speaker 3: We all fall back on the patterns that we were
Speaker 3: raised with. And so yeah, absolutely, And so getting those
Speaker 3: opportunities to learn about healthy relationships and healthy and safe parenting,
Speaker 3: that's some of the stuff that Yosi's posting on social media.
Speaker 3: And if there's ever an opportunity that we can come
Speaker 3: out and do a specialized training, give Yos a call home.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I love to come out. I love to I'm
Speaker 5: passure about education. I you know, this isn't the inheritance
Speaker 5: that we want to pass on to our nets generation.
Speaker 5: So just being out there and you know, the body
Speaker 5: keeps the score. That's even the title of the book.
Speaker 5: So anything that we can do to prevent, you know,
Speaker 5: unhealthy situations for both adults and children. We really want
Speaker 5: a stronger, safer Barnsville and you know, surrounding area for everybody.
Speaker 4: So I'll go out there and I'll teach what needs
Speaker 4: to be taught.
Speaker 2: All right, Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1: And do you take information I like on your messages
Speaker 1: on Facebook? Because some some agencies do, some don't. Yeah, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: because some folks feel that it's a little safer that
Speaker 1: way other than using.
Speaker 2: A phone it sure.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you can message up on Facebook.
Speaker 5: On our website rayfobase dot org, we have a live
Speaker 5: chat option as well. There's there's several ways to get
Speaker 5: a hold of us. We have our crisis line.
Speaker 3: We have a twenty four hour crisis line, and so
Speaker 3: people can reach out to us there. That number is
Speaker 3: nine one eight two one four eight eight eight six
Speaker 3: and it's answered twenty four hours a day. And so
Speaker 3: if someone is feeling unsafe in their home and they're
Speaker 3: not sure what to do, they can call that number.
Speaker 3: And of course, anytime you feel like you're in immediate danger,
Speaker 3: if you suspect a child is in immediate danger, called
Speaker 3: nine to one one.
Speaker 1: Okay, Now I already know the answer to this. In
Speaker 1: case folks listing out don't nonprofit organizations.
Speaker 4: Right, yes, absolutely, So.
Speaker 1: If someone was thinking to themselves, you know, I got
Speaker 1: a little extra on the paycheck this week, I don't
Speaker 1: want to go out and do something silly.
Speaker 2: I'd like to put it to good use. Can people
Speaker 2: just make a donation c Railcope.
Speaker 3: They absolutely can redo that. They can visit our website.
Speaker 3: We've got a link and donate now button, so they
Speaker 3: are welcome to do that. We have lots of giving
Speaker 3: options we have. You can make an immediate donation, you
Speaker 3: can send us a check. You can even include us
Speaker 3: in your long term future plans. And we actually just
Speaker 3: set up an endowment to the Bartles Skill as fat
Speaker 3: just now at the Bartlezoil Community Foundation. And so if
Speaker 3: you are looking to make a permanent, long term donation
Speaker 3: to Ray of Hope so that you can support us
Speaker 3: being there for the next twenty years, you can do
Speaker 3: that and you can give us a call or called
Speaker 3: Bartletool Community Foundation.
Speaker 1: Well, ladies, it's great having you in studio again and
Speaker 1: looking forward to a very busy month for you.
Speaker 2: Absolutely we'll be seeing you'll be seen.
Speaker 3: It's see see.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you'll be seeing me, You'll be seeing Yeah, there
Speaker 4: you go.
Speaker 2: But thanks for coming in.
Speaker 1: Don't be strangers, and anytime you have something coming up,
Speaker 1: make sure that you stop buy for a visit and
Speaker 1: we'll share the word with everyone.
Speaker 3: Thanks so much for having.
Speaker 1: Us all right, Thank you ladies and gentlemen. You have
Speaker 1: been watching and listening to our community connection right here
Speaker 1: on K one, the one you trust.
Speaker 2: Stay tuned.
Speaker 1: We have news coming up from CBS and then our
Speaker 1: local news and we'll get you a check on that weather.
Speaker 2: It looks like it could be a little dicey tonight
Speaker 2: and this
Speaker 1: Massive quick but they are rocking our lead institutions to
Speaker 1: the bone, and you know it's rippled.