As a father first, and chef/owner of Grace’s Table second, I’m supporting COPE’s campaign against child abuse for both my family and my community. Child abuse has brought lasting pain to those closest to me in various and covert ways. Child abuse is emotional, psychological, and physical. Child abuse is neglect, isolation, and intentional alienation. Child abuse is the thief of adolescence and a jackhammer to a stable family. The abuse of my children changed our lives forever.
Unfortunately, some forms of abuse will never be prosecuted or investigated as a true crime against children and families, but that does not take away from the reality of the devastation they cause. Parent alienation, for example, is not illegal in the state of California. The intentional distancing of a child from another parent can be motivated by pure malice, a hunger for power, or the extortion of money – and it bears no legal consequences. Through sharing my family’s story, I have found that unchecked abuse is common in our community.
Our children deserve safe and loving homes. They deserve childhoods that they will be able to remember fondly. Our children deserve to be children. Please contact us if you would like to donate to Cope Family Center in their efforts to prevent child abuse.
Sincerely,