HPF would like to provide information on where abused or neglected children can turn to for help. Refuge, a Wood River, IL-based program that offers therapy to children and families who have been exposed to abuse and neglect, is such a program.

According to the article, the Refuge program is a part of the Wood River organization Riverbend Family Ministries (RFM), which houses a group of small nonprofits providing support to abused children and families as well as the tools to persevere. Education and restoration through healing is the key part to the program’s philosophy in response to the cases reported in the county. “We work through creative expression with the kids. Play is how they grow, but also process through problems,” said Refuge Executive Director Erin Bickle. Bickle explained how children can take weeks to months at a time to open up about the sensitive situations experienced, but the healing process is worth it. Read more: http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/101146/rays-of-refuge-groups-provide-help-to-abused-neglected-children

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