The numbers are sobering. At least 1 in 7 American children experience abuse, according to the CDC. And despite the “stranger danger” narrative many of us grew up with, 90% of abuse happens at the hands of someone the child or family knows.
A recent Star Tribune piece, reported by Minnesota teens through ThreeSixty Journalism, took readers inside CornerHouse. Led by Executive Director Christy Shannon, this Children’s Advocacy Center served more than 1,700 children last year alone. CornerHouse offers something essential: forensic interviews and mental health support designed around a child’s comfort, not an adult system’s convenience.
But the article also surfaces a hard truth we see reflected in our own work — Minnesota has just 14 Children’s Advocacy Centers for 87 counties, and federal funding cuts are forcing some centers to reduce services or close. CornerHouse’s goal, that any child and family can reach a center like CornerHouse within an hour, is still out of reach for much of the state.
This is the kind of work Safe Passage is proud to stand behind — and to work alongside. CornerHouse and organizations like it are on the front lines of child abuse; our job is to make sure the systems around them hold up their end.