Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter signed a proclamation Monday designating October 25 through October 31 Child Advocacy Awareness Week, highlighting efforts to protect local children from harmful situations.
Porter said the Cookeville Junior Women’s Club has spearheaded this initiative for more than 50 years. The organization collaborates with local law enforcement and Child Protective Service agencies to identify and respond to the specific needs of families.
“It’s all about our kids, that’s our future generations that we’ve got to protect and make sure that they’re taken care of and I think we do a good job here in Putnam County,” Porter said. “It’s a safe community, we have great schools, but there’s lots of children out there that may have needs that we don’t know about.”
Porter said the club provides resources throughout the entire year rather than just during the designated week. These efforts include providing food and clothing to children in need.
“There’s kids getting involved in bad situations or get harmed by someone and they’re needing folks to be there to advocate for them and so that’s what this is all about,” Porter said.
Porter said the club participates in national programs such as Sleep in Heavenly Peace to furnish beds and bedding for children. The group also addresses food insecurity through the PEP Program, which sends hundreds of backpacks filled with food home with students for the weekends.
“You’d be surprised how many children that go hungry on the weekends,” Porter said. “We feed them at our schools, but they go hungry and that’s why we have the Backpack Program where they send hundreds of backpacks home through the PEP Program to our kids to have food on the weekend and it’s just making sure they’re encouraging healthy lifestyles and trying to meet all their physical needs, whether it be encouraging their parents or caregivers or others in the community to come and join them in making sure our kids are taken care of.”
Porter said the Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center also plays a vital role by supporting children involved in legal proceedings. The group advocates for children who may have been harmed when they are required to testify or participate in court cases.
“It’s trying to bring that awareness in our community so that everyone out there is watching out for our kids,” Porter said. “The old saying, ‘it takes a village’ to raise our children and we live in a great village and but sometimes we need to be reminded that our children are our most precious asset.”
Porter said residents who suspect a child is being abused or neglected should contact the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office immediately at 931-528-8484 to speak with an investigator.