On Tuesday, Safe Passage for Children held its first annual candlelight vigil for the children who lost their lives due to maltreatment. Thank you to everyone who faced the wintry mix to attend. Your support for efforts to keep children safe makes a difference; we are stronger together.
The night started with opening remarks by our Board Chair, Dr. Lisa Hollensteiner. Dr. Hollensteiner then read the list of the 28 children who died in 2024 due to maltreatment, followed by a moment of silence.
After the moment of silence, Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) said a few words, sharing his story about how his childhood led him to demanding change for the children of Minnesota. We appreciate his constant support of Safe Passage and his authorship of a bill to improve mandated reporter training standards.
To close out the vigil, Safe Passage Interim Executive Director Melissa DeBilzan shared the heart wrenching story of Eli Hart through the eyes of his father and step-mother, who could not make it. Stories like Eli’s are why we do what we do. Child maltreatment is a nonpartisan issue and a tragic outrage that we must work together to stop.
This is just the first community event during this Child Abuse Prevention Month. Please join us next Monday, April 7th, for our annual Day at the Capitol. We can help you meet with your senator or representative to make them aware of our key issues and the potential impacts of bills currently in play. Together, we will demand change and advocate for the children who cannot advocate for themselves.
Safe Passage is advocating not only for data transparency, but also for improvements in our child welfare system. As the only government watchdog group of its kind in Minnesota, we invite you to join us in looking out for kids.