According to Community Partners of Dallas President/CEO Joanna Clarke,
“As we approach year end, I’m carrying our children in my heart. With 61% of our client population living on less than $14,000 per year, today’s economy has greatly increased their need for support. Kids like Luna and Willow need your help.
“‘Mommy calls me bad sister,’ and pointing at the tiny toddler in the caseworker’s arms, ‘and her good sister. But then she got so mad she even hurt her. I guess now she hates us both.’ This is how 5-year-old Luna described herself when I asked her her name the day I met her in CPD’s emergency resource center, the Rainbow Room.
“Luna was at Community Partners of Dallas with her caseworker and her little sister, Willow. They’d just left the hospital and were headed to meet their foster family. While the girls searched for new toys, the caseworker shared that they found the children alone in a filthy apartment after a neighbor reported seeing disheveled Luna limping and looking for food in the parking lot dumpster.
“Malnourished, Luna’s bones poked out from beneath the freckles on her sunken little cheeks. The caseworker described how her back was black and blue down to her knees and how scans showed evidence of a variety of previously broken bones. Her feet were covered in second-degree burns from when she was forced to stand in boiling water as punishment for eating a package of crackers she found in the kitchen. Tiny 2½ year old Willow had a swollen black eye and the mark of an adult sized handprint showed on her chest.
“As we packed up toys, diapers, clothes and two new car seats, the girls demonstrated their inordinate resilience by smiling and giggling when one of our staff members read them a book. They looked frail and broken on the outside, but there was still hope inside. Today these beautiful girls are safe, but there are countless children in our community suffering at the hands of those who should love them the most. Times are tough. This year we have had a 37% increase in cases served in the Rainbow Room, and as a result we are facing a shortfall to our Rainbow Room budget. Your kind and generous support empowers CPD to provide what abused children urgently need today to thrive tomorrow.
“My wish this holiday season is for every child to feel safe in their own home and to ensure that when they are not, CPD is there, ready to provide all the resources they need. A gift of any size will make an impact, and help abused children take their first steps toward healing. Thank you for showing them that someone does care.”
