I would recommend that your read the previous blog first in order for this one to make any sense. Thanks!
I certainly would never recommend that an individual person or couple take it upon themselves to personally get involved between a relationship involving a husband or wife or a parent and child. It is possible that in doing so we run the risk of jeopardizing our own safety. What I am talking about is awareness. Many times we live next door to someone and never see them or pay any attention to them, beyond saying, hello.
Sometimes we need to consider forming a neighborhood watch if there is not currently one in our neighborhood. Many times in an abuse situation the adults will act strange in that they deliberately appear to be shunning the entire neighborhood. Abuse can only function in isolation as well as meth houses, can only operate in secret. We need to pay attention to what kind of a scream it is. Children playing and screaming and having fun do not sound like the scream of abuse nor do wives sound like someone having fun. Error on the side of caution for the child’s sake,without thinking that we might appear foolish.
What time are the kids coming home from school and are they old enough to be babysitting themselves? Are they being left alone at night while Mom and dad are out? Just in general we should not worry about being a “nosy Rosy” as many times we neighbors are all the children and wives have to protect them against abuse.
This small town near where I lived, like all small towns, was a gossip haven. They had a neighbor that they knew who was scrubbing their 8 year old daughter in lye with a wire brush along with other abuses. I never heard a thing about it while the family lived there but once they left and moved to a larger size of town they were immediately reported to Social Service and the little girl removed from their care.
The first thing I wanted to know was, why was this kept secret, when nothing else was. I haven’t a doubt that if someone like myself had heard about it, I would have reported it, so when I asked, it became apparent to me, immediately, the reason no one told me was because they did not want Social Service snooping around in their town. It clearly was not the only family where abuse was taking place. Statistics show that in any neighborhood of any size of town, one house out of three on each block, has some form of abuse taking place.
There is a terrible smell that gets absorbed into the clothing,hair and even lungs and skin of children when meth is cooking. It cannot be missed. We need to get in a habit of getting close enough to a child playing outside if we cannot already smell it coming from the home. We can ask them if they think their parents would care if they had a lollypop or if they want to play at the park with our child. If the mother never comes out and visits while we are visiting with the children or if none of them are ever outside perhaps it is time that we make the effort to get more acquainted.
I am not talking about the monthly or by-weekly pity trips or snoop sessions that I wrote about ,previously, that takes place in small towns nor am I suggesting they take an interest in what we are interested in. Once we find out that the kids are just couch potatoes and are entertained by t.v. or she has hobbies like reading or painting then at least we have an explanation over just guessing.
Not all meth houses are isolated from a neighborhood. We need to pay attention to bruises and broken bones that are not common. Especially if the children are sedate and are couch potatoes. If in visiting with the children or wife, we find that they are falling a lot more that what normal children or adults fall then get suspicious and contact the right authorities. Ask to remain annonymous.
Otherwise if your neighborhood is not the place you want to help then contact soup kitchens, large daycares, schools, and ask if they can use help with children, check with Children’s hospitals in regard to gifting or volunteering time. Large physcal therapy Clinics may be able to use free volunteer work with their children. In general anyplace where children play, work, or sleep.
We need to just remember to be more aware or alert of the children than what we commonly are. Obviously, the only way we can stop more laws and more government is if we start giving a little time. I know we are already short of time and energy as it is, but what I am talking about,for the most part, requires looking out the door or window and using both our eyes, ears and common sense. Time that we all have, that costs nothing, but could save so much more than any of us can imagine.
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