Choosing just the right pumpkin to take home was one of the many fun activities during the Pumpkin Patch field Trip on October 22nd.  Families were able to participate this year thanks to the $750 donated by our loyal supporters!  The animal barn was a big hit allowing many children to experience farm animals for their very first time.  Parents snuggled their children on hay rides and enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Sauvie Island.  What great fun it was to climb on the giant haystack and slip down the slides with great laughter.  This was a day of family, a day of fun -- a day that will be reflected upon many times with loving memories.
 
Each family hand picked farm fresh fruits and vegetables to take home.  We would like to extend a personal "thank you!" to all of you who responded to our request to sponsor families. 

When I was seven months pregnant my boyfriend left me.  I was scared and didn't know what to do.  I was about to have my first baby and I had no job, no money to buy the things I would need and I didn't know anything about taking care of a baby.  Then my neighbor told me about Children's Relief Nursery.

I met with Donna who told me about how they work with and support families with very young children. I learned about a Parent-Infant class I could take there, and that after the birth I could bring my baby to class with me. I signed up.  In the class, I met other moms who had a new baby or were expecting. They were all so supportive of me.

The Nursery helped me in other ways, too.  I learned about the WIC (Women, Infants & Children - Department of Human Services) program that helped me get nutritious foods for me and my baby. The Nursery helped me get what I needed for my baby's arrival. By the time I was due, I was still scared, but I knew there were people to support me.

After my daughter Ava was born I went back to the Parent-Infant class. Working with the Nursery and the other moms I learned how to take care of my baby.  I learned about child development and how to help her feel safe and secure while she grows and learns. If it wasn't for the folks at Children's Relief Nursery -- I don't know what kind of mother I'd be today.

Current findings from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Services ("The Long-term Socioeconomic Impact of Child Abuse and Neglect: Implications for Policy" by David S. Zielinski, Ph.D.) has explored the long-term impact of child maltreatment on adult employment, income and reliance on public assistance.  Even after such factors as race, age and childhood socioeconomic status have been taken into account, child victims are twice as likely as their peers to end up in poverty, accessing public services such as unemployment, welfare and Medicaid.  Read the NIMH article.

Child maltreatment is a serious public health concern.  The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study (ongoing study from the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention and Kaiser Permanente that involves 17,337 adult  members of Kaiser Permanente in San Diego between 1995 and 1997) assessed patients for ACEs including abuse, witnessing domestic violence, traumatic events and serious household dysfunction. 

In their most recent study (released in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine), they found that patients who experienced considerable trauma in their childhood (six or more ACEs) died 20 years prematurely.