At its weekly meeting Thursday, Ossian Rotary will hear from Destiny Erhardt of the Wells County chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America.
Wells County PCA was formed a little over a year ago, in conjunction with Family Centered Services, Stop Child Abuse and Neglect of Fort Wayne, and Firefly, formerly the Children’s Bureau.
Tashia Weaver, Christina Chandler, Breonna Meyers, and Erhardt make up the current council. The council is a chapter of Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, which is part of the national organization Prevent Child Abuse America.
Indiana had 60 deaths in 2021 related to child abuse and neglect. Most recently, only two states are ranked worse for child abuse and neglect than Indiana. PCA organizations have been around for several years and their specific purposes depend on each county.
For example, in Noble County, the PCA recently did a backpack drive where materials were collected for the Domestic Violence Task Force. Blankets will then be handmade for the backpacks by members of the Noble County community and the bags will be given to children who are victims of domestic violence.
Activities in other counties include diaper or clothing drives. Wells County PCA is planning an event in April for Prevent Child Abuse month. Firefly and Family Centered Services are the community partners for Wells County.
Referrals are made to their organizations, which have family support specialists that will go into the homes and offer support to the family.
Ninety-eight percent of the people who have joined Community Partners typically avoid a court case and are successful in overcoming crisis.
The PCA is always looking for more members. Contact Erhardt for more information at derhardt@scaninc.org.
