Teammates from Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic joined the Exchange Club Family Resource Center and other community leaders on Thursday to show support for families during Child Abuse Prevention Month.
A pinwheel planting event was held on Redmond Road and John Maddox Drive near the Harbin Clinic Heart Center. Each pinwheel represents approximately 50 children in our community affected by abuse or neglect, according to Tina Bartleson, executive director of the Family Resource Center. She said about 300 pinwheels were placed in the grass.
“I want to express my appreciation to Harbin Clinic and Atrium Health Floyd for sponsoring this year’s placement of the pinwheels event,” Bartleson said. “Child Abuse Prevention Month is about renewing our commitment to these children and the families that care for them. And I am so grateful to be working in a time when agencies come together to serve families.
“We empower families to be resilient, to have healthy connections and to enable their children to grow and thrive,” she continued. “No one agency can do 100 percent of this work, and I am so grateful to work in this community where we have so many agencies working hand in hand. We do not work in silos. We work in partnership.”
That partnership is important to families looking for help and resources.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure they know we are there for them,” said Dr. Tyler Barnes, a pediatrician with Atrium Healthy Floyd. “Parenting is hard,” Barnes continued. “Raising a child is hard, and I think anyone who has done that knows that. We don’t want anyone to feel like they are alone while they are going through that, and I think we have a lot of families out there, they feel that way. We want them to know we are here to support them.”
Dr. Robersteen Howard, a pediatrician with Harbin Clinic said 1 in 7 children in Georgia experience neglect or abuse each year.
“It is our collective responsibility to raise awareness, to provide support and take action,” she said. “By working together we can create safer environments, advocate for stronger protections and ensure every child has the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe and supported.
“I am proud to work in a community where this is so important,” she concluded.
