You’ve probably been reading about how the governor’s wife, Andrea Conte, is raising funds for Child Advocacy Centers across Tennessee, and you may be wondering what that is all about.

A Child Advocacy Center, such as the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Martin, is a place that provides services for children who have been abused or who are at risk of abuse, and for their families.

As a clinical psychologist with some special background and training in abuse issues, I’ve worked with lots of children who were abused – physically, sexually or emotionally. These kids suffer enormously.

The people who are supposed to protect them in their lives – parents, babysitters, older siblings or other relatives, coaches, family friends – betray their trust.

Whether it is the soul-destroying words of emotional abuse (“I wish you had never been born!”), the bruises from beatings or the shame and fear of sexual abuse, these kids have to live with pain that no child should have to bear.

Even having to observe the abuse of others in the family, such as witnessing spouse abuse between parents or seeing a parent severely harm a sibling, can hurt kids badly.

As a society, we abhor child abuse, but we don’t do very much about it. Things have changed and improved in the years since I began doing this work, but very slowly.

Children are first traumatized by the abuse, and then sometimes further traumatized by the very system that is in place to help them. Most never get help.

For those whose abuse does come to light, they may have to tell their humiliating story to multiple professionals and very little help is forthcoming.

That’s where Child Advocacy Centers step in. They provide facilities so that kids only have to have one interview, and other professionals can observe from outside the room.

They have trained case workers who can help the children and help their parents, who are often repeating a cycle of violence learned in their own homes.

These Centers offer a friendly, non-institutional environment where kids can be helped.

I still see the faces of the little boys and girls who came through my office for treatment during the years before I came to UTM.

Many of them were very brave, and all of them deserved more love and less pain in their lives. I see their shadow in the college students who have survived many of the same horrors and are now dealing with the aftermath of abuse.

If you were fortunate enough to grow up in a loving and non-abusive family, you were given a great gift. Don’t take it for granted.

Far too many children lie tensely in bed at night, wondering about the yelling downstairs or the footsteps approaching their bedroom.

About 1,300 children a year die of child abuse or neglect. Most of them are under age 6.

You can turn away, or you can do something. Become a Carl Perkins Center volunteer.

Join in the “Andrea Walks” event here in Weakley County next week.

Educate yourself – a good source is the Web site www.childhelpUSA.org.

Join SABER and help college students to recognize and challenge violence and abuse in relationships.

Listen when a friend confides in you about a painful past.

Watch out for the children you know who are in stressed-out families.

Get some counseling to overcome the aftermath of abuse if you are a survivor.

Just be aware that not all children are lucky enough to be safe and supported. Let’s do what we can.