For nearly a decade, Diane Charles has been the executive director of Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the well-being of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect through education and advocacy.
How do you reach parents?
Through our relationship with other family service organizations — about 800 service providers dealing with parents on other issues. Sometimes we get parents directly who see a flier, but we also make contact through social workers, someone at a school who sees a parent struggling. We conduct parent education through parent support groups and play groups and we help parents navigate the issues with their kids in ways that do not involve violence but rather direct communication. We work on skill building and helping them learn to nurture.
What is the most common problem you see with parents?
I would say just stress, feeling like it’s a bigger issue than is really is and not knowing where to turn at that moment. … Parents don’t realize that there are resources and simple ways to help them through difficult times.
How do you directly help them?
We are, lots of times, the in-between person, helping them find resources that might be more of an immediate help for them. We get them into a setting where they are surrounded by other parents who may be similar or who may have other challenges. Often … they are basic issues, but people feel inadequate.
How’d you get involved in the program?
I came from nonprofit management, but I really wanted the opportunity to work with programs that worked with children and families. It’s just an area that’s interested me and we’ve definitely taken a more positive approach because we obviously believe it’s better for children to stay with their parents and often it’s just a few new tools the parents need.
