Open your eyes and advocate for children.Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Megan Friese For The Register Guard Mohandas Gandhi once said, `Be the change you wish to see in the world." If I were brave enough, that quote would be tattooed on my forearm forearm /fore·arm/ (for´ahrm) antebrachium; the part of the arm between elbow and wrist. fore·arm n. The part of the arm between the wrist and the elbow. instead of engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. on a bracelet I wear every day. Perhaps then I would be motivated to try that much harder to live my life by those powerful - and hopeful - words. Too often, I find myself sitting back on my heels, not acting when action is the very thing that's required. Reporter Bill Bishop's article in the Dec. 17 Register-Guard about the senseless sense·less adj. 1. Lacking sense or meaning; meaningless. 2. Deficient in sense; foolish or stupid. 3. Insensate; unconscious. , tragic death of Lacey lac·ey adj. Variant of lacy. Folenius shook me from my complacency and forced me to examine the words I carry on my bracelet. Tell me that you read the story of Lacey's last months of life and felt something - anger, disgust, hopelessness or profound sadness. I'm almost sure that every person who read her story felt something. I urge you to not let go of those feelings - or worse, become paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. by them. I believe that each of us not only has the power, but the responsibility to help ensure that this tragedy does not become a reality for even one more child in our community. Don't fool yourself into thinking there are not other Laceys out there. I need to tell you, there are hundreds of children here in Lane County who are living her nightmare every single day: Children who come home from school with a plan for becoming invisible so they can make it through the evening without being hit. Children who are raped in their own homes while their parents party with methamphetamine methamphetamine (mĕth'ămfĕt`əmēn): see amphetamine; methedrine. users. Children whose eyes no longer light up because their innocence has been stolen. This is not just something that happens every once in a while. This happens every day. Is it too overwhelming to think about? Surely it would be easiest to do nothing and to go about our lives as if we had never heard of Lacey Folenius, or to think that children such as Lacey are someone else's problems to worry about. These `problems' are not going to go away. These `problems' are epidemic. The number of children living in foster care in Lane County has grown from 500 children to more than 1,000 in just six years. Where is the outrage? Where are protests? Where are solutions? Someone else is not going to fix this. We need to look in the mirror and ask, `What can I do?' Please consider becoming a foster or adoptive parent Noun 1. adoptive parent - a person who adopts a child of other parents as his or her own child adopter parent - a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian by opening your home and your heart to a child who desperately needs to know they are safe and loved. Volunteer your time and train to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate CASA or Court Appointed Special Advocate is a national association that supports and promotes a court-appointed advocate on behalf of abused or neglected children in order to provide a safe and healthy environment in permanent homes. who can ensure that children do not fall through the cracks of our broken system. Lacey was on our waiting for a CASA Ca´sa n. 1. A house or mansion. I saw that Enriquez had made no attempt to modernize the old casa, and that even the garden was left in its lawless native luxuriance. - Bret Harte. volunteer, but the sad reality is that we only have 81 volunteers serving 232 children. Hundreds of children just like Lacey are moving through the system without the eyes, ears and advocacy of an advocate. Educate yourself on what is happening - or is not happening - on behalf of our children in the political arena, and then find a way to get involved. Do not let Lacey's story become yesterday's news. You can be the change you wish to see in the world. Megan Friese, the mother of two teenagers, is executive director of CASA of Lane County. A CASA volunteer is appointed by the juvenile court juvenile court Special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, often concerning care of an abandoned or impoverished child, and criminal matters, arising from antisocial judge to advocate for the best interests of child who has an open case with DHS/Child Protective Services. For more information, call 984-3132 or go to www.casa-lane.org |
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