Yadda, yadda, yadda, another protest, another rally, another vigil. No, seriously, pay attention to this one. It’s for the little boys killed week. And thank you Sharyl Kato for all you do.
No More Silence—Taking a Stand against Family Violence
A Community Candlelight Vigil in honor of Kemaury McArthur and Kevin McArthur III and Luis Vasquez.
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What: In a span of nearly three days, the lives of three innocent children were taken through senseless and selfish acts of violence here in Madison.Brothers Kemaury McArthur, 3, and four-year-old Kevin McArthur III, were found dead in a vehicle early on the morning of Wednesday, July 6th and three-year-old Luis Vasquez passed away on Sunday, July 3rd.
Please join members of the Madison community as we collectively mourn the deaths of these three boys whose lives were tragically cut short before they truly began.
The community vigil will also be an opportunity to bring to light the growing prevalence of child abuse and domestic violence in Dane County. In a recent Wisconsin State Journal article, Dan Simmons wrote that local social workers have seen a “steady increase in child abuse and neglect cases in the past few years,” and that the domestic violence cases in Dane County have grown from “2,878 cases in 2003, to 3,260 cases in 2008.”
The community vigil will also serve as a platform to highlight the myriad resources available to families dealing with the often complex and multi-layered issues that surround family violence. Sharyl Kato, Director of the Rainbow Project, a child and family counseling and resource clinic whose staff are working in prevention and early intervention with young children and adult caregivers who have experienced trauma, including domestic violence, sexual abuse, community violence and child abuse, speaks on the importance of transforming our grief in to something positive and preventing future tragic events such as those that took place last week:
“Tragedies such as this are a devastating loss for the family and friends of these little ones. It is a devastating loss for all of us. It changes our community and our view of the world we live in. We cannot become powerless and overwhelmed. It is important to direct our grief and outrage into positive action, to remember the three victims who did not have a chance to grow up, to remember other victims of violence and work toward preventing future violence. It can be done. We are all a part of the solution, as family members, friends, neighbors, employers, teachers, physician and law enforcement. We need to be informed and aware of our own actions and we need to act now to establish a community that will provide safety for all victims of violence.”
When: Thursday, July 14 at 8:00-8:45 p.m.
Where: The East Madison Community Center Courtyard (located behind the building), 8 Straubel Court, Madison, WI 53704
There also is a 1-mile walk around the capitol at noon on Sunday, July 31, to raise awareness of child abuse and violence.
As providing safety for all victims of violence and abuse, I respectfully suggest that we consider making child safety more important that the rights of biological parents. Too often parents who are violent, neglectful, abusive, or simply unwilling or unable to protect children, are given chance after chance after chance to ‘improve.’ It makes as much sense as giving someone unlimited OWIs until they finally kill someone, and then saying, “gee, however did this happen.”