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The Citizen, 1989-10-25, Page 5Block Parents THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1989. PAGE 5. Communities working to protect children Block Parent Week Donna White, Block Chairman of Brussels Block Parent program uses an effective way of reminding residents about Block Parent Week. BY BONNIE GROPP There is a precious commodity in our communities, more valuable than gold, and completely irre­ placeable - our children and this being National Block Parent Week it is an excellent time for us to re-evaluate and review this pro­ gram that was designed to protect and assist our youngsters. Block Parents was established four years ago in Blyth as part of the growing trend of Block Com­ munities and is celebrating its second anniversary in Brussels. At present there are about 48 Block Parent homes in Blyth while Brus­ sels has 40 of the 50 they had set as a goal, when they began the program. Each application is screened by the Ontario Provincial Police for an active criminal record including drugs, assault or of course, child­ ren and if accepted they are issued one of the familiar red and white signs to place in their window letting children know this is a safe house to seek help from. It is imperative that the signs be visible only when there is someone avail­ able to help in the household. The most crucial times are when the children are on their way to and from school and people are not available at these times if they are taking a bath, vacuuming, doing the laundry, not feeling well or not home. Should a situation arise, the Block Parent householder is not to administer first aid unless quali­ fied, provide food or drink, provide transportation or washroom facili­ ties. They are instructed to contact the proper authorities or parents as the situation warrants. Block Parents does not only offer assistance to children, however. Anyone especially senior citizens, who are in danger or need help should look for the Block Parent sign which signifies a “safe” stranger is home to give immediate attention to an emergency. It was 1987 when Brussels Council approached Deputy-Clerk Treasurer Donna White and asked her to investigate the possibility of establishing a Block Parent pro­ gram in the village, in the hopes that it would be ready for Hallo­ ween of that year. Funding for the program came through generous contributions from service clubs and the village. “It was totally community supported,” Mrs. White states. Brussels Council, the Legion, Lions, and Optimists each purchased one of the road signs that informs visitors to Brussels that it is a Block Parent Commun­ ity, at a cost of $85 each. The annual membership fee of $30 is also paid by the village. Further assistance came from Beth Craw­ ford and Brenda Wheeler who assisted Mrs. White in the imple­ mentation of the program. As was the case with Brussels, Blyth’s Block Parent program, according to Karen Stewart, who helped begin the program there, also received the necessary funding through donations from the local Lions Club and the Legion. As finances have never been a concern in the two villages, the major issue facing the people involved in the program is keeping it in the public eye. Mrs. White, Mrs. Wheeler, and Mrs. Crawford plan to visit Brussels Public School this week, to refresh the students’ minds about Block Parents and their purpose in the community. “It is important to keep it fresh and keep it moving,” she says. Mrs. Stewart agrees. “We have to get back in contact and let everyone know that Block Parents are still around.” Educating and promoting the program though is something both ladies are finding somewhat diffi­ cult to do on their own as it takes a fair bit of time to visit schools or campaign for volunteers. Mrs. White says, “We really need more homes to display signs and volun­ teers who would be willing to help in any capacity, either by promot­ ing awareness or visiting schools, would be a great asset. Some help does come in a more official capacity. Constable John Marshall of the Goderich OPP detachment, travels periodically to area schools to talk about how to “Say no to strangers”. “We would like to see these programs (Block Parents) started in townships but we need the commit­ ment from the parents,” Constable Marshall explains. Another con­ cern in the rural areas is the fact that some of the farm houses are located quite a distance from the road, however, there is a special mailbox decal that is used in this situation. Constable Marshall points out that while the police obviously have the children’s safety and protection paramount in their plan, the Block Screen test Mrs. Joan Clark, Grade 1 /2 teacher at Brussels Public School asks one of her students the specified questions used during the Legion’s video taping program. With her are Don Dunbar of the Brussels branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and Irvine Eedy of the Lucknow Legion. ID programs offered at schools It is an unfortunate reality in today’s society that no matter what lengths we may go to or what measures we may take to protect our children, many are still report­ ed missing every year. When this occurs the best the authorities can do or hope for is to find them as quickly as possible and two pro­ grams offered at area elementary schools work towards that intent. In addition to visiting the schools to instruct the students with his “Say No to Strangers” talk, Con­ stable John Marshall of the Goder­ ich OPP, will also fingerprint students if the school requests the program. Thus far, only Blyth Public and East Wawanosh have had the program in the school in this immediate area. Constable Marshall says that each school is updated once every two years unless there are many new students while Kindergarten is fingerprinted every year. He has been involved with this particular method of child identification for the last four years and states that it is really up to the school as to whether or not they choose to have the program. Parent program is actually not a police program. However, he states that he travels to all area schools whether they have a program or not to instruct them about Block Par­ ents. “If a child is in the city and needs to know where to turn if he (she) has to recognize the Block Parent sign as designating a “safe home.” More help came from the school principal who was extremely sup­ portive in getting the program initiated, Mrs. White says, and Brussels Basket includes an appli­ cation form in the package when they visit newcomers to the com­ munity, but the results have been a little disappointing thus far. “We would still like to reach our original goal of 50 Block Parent homes in town,” Mrs. White stated. Anyone can be an applicant, Mrs. White says. “Some of our best Block Parents are seniors because they’re available. Perhaps it is the application that makes some people apprehensive It will take Constable Marshall a total of two or three days to fingerprint an entire school initially and then, he explains, these are kept on file at the school and the police have no further involvement other than in case of emergency. In an effort to make child identification a simpler and swifter task, the Royal Canadian Legion has also come up with an effective program. Video-taping is a pro­ vince-wide program that was first started in District C, (which takes in the area encompassed by Mea- ford, Galt, Guelph, St. Marys, Stratford, Exeter and Lucknow), three years ago. Volunteers from Legion branches throughout the District donate their time to travel to schools in the area. Each child is taped every three years, with the exception of Kindergarten which is done yearly, while they walk to a designated spot that will display their height. The teacher will then ask specific questions that the child is required to answer clearly. The tape is then left at the school to be used like the fingerprints, in case of emergency. What makes this particular pro­ about becoming a Block Parent, but Mrs. White assures that while it is subject to police scrutiny, the information is confidential. She also points out that once a family member reaches the age of seven­ teen the information on the applica­ tion should be updated so that they may act as a Block Parent as well. Finally, she says it is important to remember that if a family moves they must hand in their sign. Both Mrs. White and Mrs. Stewart believe in the program and its success. ‘I guess you could say we feel that the program is working because we haven’t really had to use it,” Mrs. White claims. “The theory is that when someone comes into a town displaying Block Parent signs it deters them from commit- ing an offense.” Mrs. Stewart adds, “There is a claim made by those associated with the program that the signs in the windows of a town will ward off any troublemaker. They know we are protecting our children and that’s important.” gram special is that it is the only one of its kind that supplies authorities with the unique infor­ mation that makes each child individual. Constable Marshall ap­ proves the program for this very reason. “Even if a child is kid­ napped and his abductors are able to change his appearance, it is unlikely that they can change his mannerisms or alter the way he walks or talks,” Constable Mar­ shall explains. “The video gives us a look at the child and certain things can never be duplicated.” Irvine Eedy, who is a member of the Lucknow Legion and who has visited many of the schools in the area to tape students, says the program does something that oth­ ers can’t. “It is visual,” he states. “For programs like the fingerprint­ ing one they are only able to be used if the child is found.” Constable Marshall agrees. “The only thing with the finger­ prints, is that they can be used only to make a positive ID,” he says. “We are certainly grateful to the Legion for initiating the video program. It is an excellent service to us and to the children and parents.”