Billboard trailer gets around!

Preparing to move the trailer from Kingsley Field are, from left: SSgt Paul Grabke, SSgt Jennifer Hall, CARES Executive Director Ken Morton who chairs the Stop The Hurt Coalition, SSgt Sienna Grandy and SrA Amanda Blodgett.

To promote awareness about child abuse and resources to help stop and prevent it, the Stop The Hurt mobile billboard is making its way across Klamath County!

The Junior Enlisted Council (JENC) of the 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field is managing the trailer’s calendar as a community service. Volunteers include SrA Amanda Blodgett, A1C Shawn Blodgett, TSgt Mike Burt, SSgt Paul Grabke, SSgt Sienna Grandy, SSgt Jennifer Hall, SSgt George Nanni, SrA Tom Howard, TSgt John Williams and TSgt Tia Williams.

“We are honored to be a part of such an important campaign. Child abuse is silent, really. Unless it is an over-the-top horrific case, you don't hear about it. So to be able to bring awareness to adults and especially to children is a privilege,” said SrA Amanda Blodgett, who spearheaded the project now led by SSgt Hall.

“As a parent, it is a great feeling knowing that my children and their friends are being exposed to the campaign - theirs are the voices that need to be heard,” she explained. “The trailer helps them to realize it's OK to speak up, and there are safe ways to do so.”

“The response so far has been terrific,” Blodgett reported. “We are honored to be a part of such an important campaign.”The mobile billboard has made the rounds from Kingsley Field to the Veterans Day Parade, the Hope Community Center, Henley Schools, OneBuild, Turn Thom Tire Factory, Human Bean, Coldwell Banker, Little League Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Arby's, Vagabond Inn and Suites, Little League Closing Ceremonies, the 173FW JENC Benefit 5K Run at Steen Sports Park and the Independence Day Parade. Look for it in front of Mazama and Klamath Union High Schools.

To display the trailer at your business, organization or event, contact SSgt Jennifer Hall at 541-810-2927, jennifer.hall.1@ang.af.mil.

Stop The Hurt is a collaborative, county-wide campaign to prevent child abuse and neglect through awareness, advocacy and education. Media include television, video radio, newspaper, posters, billboards, bookmarks, bracelets, Internet and personal presentations. Scores of organizations, businesses and individuals and media concerned about protecting children donate money, time and resources to the campaign.

In the wake of shootings involving children, youth and adults in Oregon and in Connecticut, click here for tips on how to talk about such media stories with children of all ages.

Stop The Hurt is working!

As Stop The Hurt enters its third year, studies show it is working.

Stop The Hurt’s online survey showed dramatic increases in child abuse awareness. KOBI/NBC5 market studies revealed over 60% of respondents recalled seeing it the second year, versus 40% the first year.

The rate of reporting child abuse has doubled in Klamath County since the campaign began.

Stop The Hurt’s own surveys showed 95% of respondents know how to report child abuse. Awareness that child abuse is a serious problem rose from 52% to over 75% of respondents. People increasingly know where to turn for positive parenting and prevention resources.

There's more to do...

Klamath County’s confirmed child abuse rate (25 children per 1,000) is twice that of the state and the nation, according to the latest Oregon statistics are published in the 2011 Data Book by the Oregon Department of Human Services. So our work is not finished!

To give us your thoughts, request a speaker or let us know how we can help, please contact us.

Stop The Hurt wins $10,000 NCA Award 

The National Children’s Alliance has awarded $10,000 to the Stop The Hurt Campaign for excellence in promoting awareness of and solutions to child abuse and neglect. Thank you, NCA!

The Klamath Stop the Hurt Coalition includes community leaders, businesses, social service agencies and concerned citizens that are concerned with the high rate of child abuse and neglect in our community.

The multimedia public campaign includes television, radio, newspaper, public presentations and printed materials that focus on raising awareness of child abuse issues.

To find out more information about the Stop The Hurt Campaign or to become a partner in the Klamath Stop the Hurt Coalition, please contact 541-883-5117 or browse this website!