April is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month and a local nonprofit, Homestart, is highlighting the importance of prevention and early intervention.
It's also a time to celebrate rehabilitation. Meet Angela Kelso, a San Diego County mother who had her children taken away because of her behavior and then regained custody with the help of Homestart.
Kelso was about to lose her kids forever. She said Child Welfare Services actually made the recommendation that they be adopted out. Luckily she was able to get some help just in time.
"I was just making poor choices. I was using drugs and the unfortunate reality is when you have that type of choice in your life, the lifestyle that comes with it breeds for shady people to come into your life," Kelso.
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Since then, Kelso has turned her life around thanks to Homestart and their support.
"They would monitor my visits so that they could give a good report to the social worker at the courts and that way I could have another piece of the puzzle to make things more in my favor," Kelso said.
She now has custody of her kids and recently welcomed a new baby girl.
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"I've been able to take the tools that I learned and implement them even today," she said.
Homestart supports thousands of families like Kelso’s every year.
"Children are our future and they deserve to be cherished and loved and given safety and nurturing and support," Homestart CEO Laura Tancredi-Baese said.
Last year their child abuse hotline received over 70,000 calls
"So we know there is hundreds of thousands of children being impacted by child abuse and neglect and we need to do something about it," she said.
She said violence against children takes many forms but there are signs you can look out for.
"If you see something that seems unusual, say something, do something," Tancredi-Baese said.
Kelso said there are ways to step up and really make a difference.
"Everyone makes mistakes but all things are forgivable as long as you put in the leg work now to make living amends you don't have to identify with those choices," Kelso said.
From July 2021 to June 2022, Child Welfare Services received more than $39,000 reports of alleged abuse and neglect.
