In February, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer kicked off a program called Neighbors Helping Neighbors at Hostos Community College

Paulette Farquharson-Beckford

Bronx Journal Staff Reporter

In February, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer kicked off a program called Neighbors Helping Neighbors at Hostos Community College to counter the high incidence of child abuse in Community Board 9 of the South Bronx. Ferrer called on Community Action Unlimited (CAU) a grassroots organization, Montefiore Child Protection Center, area residents and others to help fight the abuse problem in the neighborhood. Plans called for workshops and seminars to help build awareness and flyers were to be distributed throughout the area.

Most important to the project, however, was the enlistment of concerned parents in neighborhood. Participants were to display a Neighbors Helping Neighbors sticker in their window, a sign that they would provide safe haven to abused children, and help contact the authorities to aid children in need.

The initiative could not come at a better time. According to recent city statistics, Community Board Nine in Soundview has one of the highest child abuse rates in all of New York. In 1996 alone, 1862 of the 13,661 cases of child abuse reported in the borough took place in Community Board Nine, roughly 14% of the total.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors, though, seems to have hit a snag. To date, the program seems to have signed up only 10 participants, according to Sonia Mournier-Sanchez, founder and director of CAU.

One snag could be problems in getting the word out. When contacted by The Bronx Journal, employees at the local Community Board were unaware of the program. And spokespeople at the Bronx borough president's office say the program needs time to gather up a head of steam.

Crusaders in the Bronx

As slow as it is to get the project going, it does have the support of Bronx institutions that have lead the crusade against child abuse. One, the Montefiore Child Protection Center (MCPC) has run a child advocacy program in the borough since 1994. The hospital treats children who have suffered from physical and sexual abuse and neglect of a parent or guardian. Mary Pulido, Director of the Center also heads a committee behind Neighbors Helping Neighbors. She says that addressing the problem starts by teaching abusers how to deal with the rage and anger that often escalates into punching, beating or other outbursts.

Pulido says that while her group offers treatment it also will notify the police and the District Attorney's office. In the past, abusers merely receive jail time and perhaps were put in a substance abuse program.

Dr. Vincent Fontana, medical director of the Foundling Hospital in New York City is also part of Ferrer's Advisory committee for the new program. Fontana who is a world renowned expert on child abuse penned his first article on the subject in 1963 for the New England Journal of Medicine.

Fontana insists that anyone can be abusive to a child regardless of culture, race and socio-economic status. Fontana says one reason why it's hard to build awareness about child abuse is that most people stereotype offenders as alcohol or drug addicts, and think offenders throw children against a walls, lock them in dark closets or burn kids with cigarettes. While it is true that some situations do involve substance abuse they are hardly the only reasons behind child abuse. "The fact is, those images are only the extreme cases," says Dr. Fontana. And, Fontana says abuse isn't necessarily limited to extreme cases of violence, either.

Ms. Pulido agrees. "The families we serve come from diverse backgrounds and cultures." Some are teens and others are adults who need to find an outlet for their frustration. And, she adds, the requires, "planting long term seeds as opposed to trying to find a quick fix."

To help spread the word, Mournier-Sanchez who previously worked for the Seneca Center, goes door to door at least five days per week throughout Soundview with a team of 20 volunteers.

A Nationwide Epidemic

Look at nationwide statistics, and you'll see that child abuse figures are on the rise in the United States. By 1997 the number of child abuse cases reported in the United States skyrocketed to a whopping 3 million. This could very well be a direct result of people becoming willing to openly talk about the subject.

If Neighbors Helping Neighbors actually gets off the ground and succeeds, it could provide a useful model for the Bronx and the rest of New York, one which could help neighborhoods unite to combat the abuse problem. Sanchez, now a grandmother,  says that was the way it was when she was young. "When I was growing up I knew I was in trouble if I misbehaved and when I got home my mother met me at the door with her hands on her hips." 

Some might think that Lisa Izquiergo and Lisa Steinberg, two of the city' s most publicized child abuse deaths, would be alive today if their neighbors showed more concern for their well being and intervened. After all, who can forget the daily headlines that bombarded us as one after another a child died as a result of being abused by his parent or guardian.

As long as abuse continues to occur in Board 9, Sanchez and her volunteers and Pulido at Montefiore will continue to run interference by providing resources to parents and other care givers. Their services run the gamut and include a network and resource list of baby-sitters, so that overstressed parents can take a break or just socialize. Sanchez says she is also available to listen when adults need to talk and has even gone so far as to make appoints for clients who need professional assistance.

Until Neighbors Helping Neighbors gets off the ground, Sanchez plans to keep stumping at seminars, during to visits at senior homes or in presentations for civic organizations, and churches. "Too many children fall between the cracks," she says.