Teresa is an advocate for Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, and a child abuse victim herself.  It’s been almost 30 years since she moved to Vermont and away from a life she swore she’d leave behind.

“There was a lot of physical and sexual abuse, all in relation to my surroundings,” says Teresa.  “There was probably between 7 and 10 abuse cases that I went through…stepfather, uncle, neighbors, friends of friends.”

Teresa teaches the nurturing program, offered through Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, an advocacy group geared towards stopping child abuse before it happens.

“It teaches parents empathy and learning from past behaviors and how to change them.”

It’s one resource you can turn to if you know of a potential child abuse, or neglect case.  Reports in Vermont are going up.

Data shows since 2014, 50% of children from birth to five years old came into state custody due to opioid abuse in their families.

Teresa says the work is far from over to make sure another child doesn’t become another statistic.

“They need to have more people listening to their stories and helping them out and not just giving them a number.”

Read more of this article here: http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/child-abuse-prevention-month-how-is-vermont-protecting-your-kids/1146109353