For Immediate Release:
The City of Tacoma is the site of the first Safe Child Town Hall, located at Lincoln High School’s auditorium, is Wednesday, August 20th, at 6:00 pm.
This town hall series is designed to empower communities, parents, and children; to help define and confront real risk head-on, in order to reduce crimes against children and tragedies in our communities. The Safe Child Town Hall series is part of Washington Communities Against Predator’s [Wash-CAP] Safe Child Project, in observance of National Missing Children’s Day. As many of the media know, 67% of all reported Sexual Assaults are committed upon minors: 33% are below 12 years of age. It is the goal of the Safe Child Project to reduce those numbers.
We hope for community members from across Tacoma to attend. Parents, care-givers, concerned adults and teenagers all benefit from learning –proactively- how to safeguard the children within their communities. With knowledge and empowerment, children can be kept safe and secure.
Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall topics will include:
· preventative safety for child and family,
· resources available if your child has been assaulted,
· real statistics on who is a threat to your child and community,
· internet safety
· what is being done to increase the safety of Tacoma’s families & children, and what has been learned in the last year since the tragic loss of Zinna Linnick,
· what kind of oversight Registered Sex Offenders receive,
· Panel Q&A
Participants include:
· Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County
· Safe Streets
· Department of Corrections
· Legislative Youth Advisory Council
· District 27 of the Washington State Legislature
· City of Tacoma, Tacoma TV
· Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
· Tacoma Police Department
· Tacoma Schools
· Wash-CAP
Please – Attend if you can. Children are welcome. Printed materials will be available from participating organizations, including the Take 25 program from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children [NCMEC].
