‘Kids advocating for kids’: Williamson County teen collects stuffed animals for child abuse victims
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – More than 600,000 children are abused in the United States every year. In Williamson County, an advocacy center worked with more than 5,000 new survivors in just one year.
It’s a traumatizing experience, but the Davis House Advocacy Center has found a way to give each child a little bit of comfort, and they recently have gotten help from a local teenager.
“Wrap their arms around and hug so that giant elephant would be great for them,” said Kenny Royer, pointing to one of many stuffed animals inside the Davis House Advocacy Center.
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Amid the uncertainty, Royer is trying to ensure every child in need can find a little comfort.
“No matter how large, how small a stuffed animal – whether it’s a pink teddy bear or even if it’s a realistic looking animal – every child has some sort of comfort with these stuffed animals,” explained Royer.
At just 17 years old, Royer already understands how prevalent the problem of child abuse is.
“When I learned about the Davis House, I was immediately interested in it because I had a family member that went through the same thing that those kids are going through,” he said. “I knew it happens because I knew my family member went through it, but I did not know the frequency to which it’s un-talked about and unheard of. I didn’t know that only 12% of cases were actually reported. I think after learning all of that fueled my passion to sort of try to expand the Davis House operations.”
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In collaboration with the Davis House Advocacy Center, Royer has collected over 1,000 stuffed animals. Each one is gifted to a child that walks through their doors.
“After the interview, they come out, our child and family advocate takes them over to allow them to choose a stuffed animal and they get so excited. They say, ‘Can I take one home?’ so they get to choose and it gives them some sense of control and also just to be a kid again,” explained Carolyn Evans, the executive director of the Davis House Advocacy Center. “They have to go through so much and having to talk about what happened to them, and like I said, our goal is they only have to tell that story once, but once is too many.”
Evans told News 2 that not only is the collaboration with Royer appreciated, she described it as “kids advocating for kids.”
However, what is the true reality of how many children the center serves?
“Fun bright colors, a princess button, sometimes we’ve had children who say, ‘I want to pick a black button,’ because they felt a void,” described Evans.
When a child is brought in after being taken from an abusive situation, they are able to take a stuffed animal, but they leave behind a button collected in a jar, which represents how they are not alone in their situation.
“Behind every button is a child’s story,” Evans said.
For more than two decades, the center has been providing support and resources to children who have been victims of abuse, neglect, or trauma. All of these are issues that happen often, but are rarely talked about.
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“It’s not the scary white van that I grew up with and was worried about and was told to be scared of, it’s someone that they know and so it is prevalent,” explained Evans. “It’s definitely happening, and it’s definitely something that the more we empower our children by educating them, keeping them safe, the better opportunity we have to help them heal.”
Royer is still collecting stuffed animals until the end of this month, but he plans on doing this drive every year as a way to highlight the issue of child abuse. If you would like to donate, you can learn more here.
If you or someone you know is in need of help, call the Tennessee Child Abuse Hotline at 877-237-0004.
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