Get Involved During National Child Abuse Prevention Month
DETROIT (WWJ) - Experts say it's an epidemic and it's time more people speak up. April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention month to draw attention to the five children who die every day in the US at the hands of adults.
Elizabeth Brazilian of Child Health Michigan said too many people these days don't want to get involved.
"When people see something that they know in their gut is just not right, please err on the side of the child and if you feel that the child is being abused or neglected and you're really quite sure about it, Michigan has a wonderful hotline you can call," she said.
Brazilian said more than 32,000 children were abused in Michigan last year.
"The Dominick Calhoun situation is a great example. This poor child was abused for days upon days and neighbors heard him crying and they heard the commotions, and no one reported it. And of course, that child died a horrific death," she said.
Read more on Dominick Calhoun, here.
Child abuse isn't just a problem in Michigan -- Brazilian said it's a national epidemic.
"Five children are dying in the United States, on an average day in the U.S. from abuse and neglect. I mean, that's like an airplane full of 150 children going down every month," she said.
Michigan's child abuse hotline is 855 444-3911. For more information, visit www.childhelp.org.
