The First Step Towards Hope and Healing
This is the story of Clara and the First Step Resource Center. Clara was sexually abused from the ages of 3-6. She had nowhere to turn until her mother brought her to First Step. This became the beginning of her journey towards safety and recovery. Learn how our community comes together to address sexual abuse of children and adult sexual assault by clicking on the video above. Programs like First Step are possible through St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center’s Community Benefit and willing community partners.
First Step is an amazing program. It is great to know we have organizations like this in Missoula to help make sure our children grow up in a safe/healthy environment.
Clara’s story is very touching. Sometimes it is hard to imagine things like this happening so close to home. St Pats Community Benefit programs are here to make our community a better place to live and I feel very confident in the fact that they are creating a safer/healthier community for all of us.
Great video. It’s good to see that a case like this involving the child was able to get her day in court, so to speak, and the man is now serving time in jail. Child abuse laws need to be much tougher, and I wish that more of these cases would be brought to light. It’s time to put these abusers in jail for longer terms, and with people like First Step advocating for victims of abuse, someday we’ll see stiffer penalties. First Step is very valuable to the community and do a great community service in helping victims of abuse, children or adults, and make the city a better place to be.
This is a sensitive introductory video which alerts the viewer to the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse and St. Pat’s role within Missoula community program to address the issue.
One possible suggestion would be to include VERBALLY the rate of female and male child abuse. Although the viewer can read the rate, I think hearing these numbers as well would reinforce the impact on the viewer. Some people may not actually read these numbers.
I am curious how many children the center has served during the past year.
Assuming that your audience is parents, relatives, friends or even the child sufferiing the abuse, it might also be helpful to include First Step Resource Center’s direct line PHONE NUMBER in the video. I would also suggest that both the web site and phone numbers included IN PRINT toward the end of the video.
Overall, this video is well done and moving. Congrats to St. Pat’s for their efforts to address this sad problem. Limiting/reversing the dammage of childhood abuse will have a positive impact on individuals as well as the community at large.
I am shocked at the numbers, it hard to believe. The program looks like it incorporates all the right groups to make something like this work. I wish all the parties the best with the mission.
First step looks like it will accomplish its mission statement, and this video has made me more aware of the problem, I had no idea that the statistics of sexually abuse was so high, are those Missoula numbers? Hopefully programs like this can help to end the abuse!