The county of Los Angeles is divided into eight geographic areas, or Service Provider Areas (SPA). Geographically, the Antelope Valley is called SPA-1. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s June, 2009 report, the Antelope Valley leads the county in many areas.
We have the most child abuse cases per capita, domestic violence cases, the highest number of smokers, and consequently the highest number of lung cancer deaths. SPA-1 leads the county in automobile accidents resulting in death. Children ages 0-17 years that have special health care needs are another area in which we have the highest numbers. Unfortunately, we lead the county in diabetes death rate, stroke death rate for African Americans, Coronary heart disease death rate, and other areas that don’t speak well for the standard of living here.
In an effort to change this, Grace Resource Center has been chosen to be the lead agency in the AV in a collaborative effort by county, faith-based, and community based organizations to help reduce child abuse in our region. Through this massive effort we have forged a powerful partnership with fifty-seven organizations in our region to fight against child abuse. Working closely with our local DCFS offices we are making strides in reducing child abuse in the Antelope Valley.
This effort is called abuse prevention. Meeting real needs (sharing the love of Christ in a tangible way by the giving of services) with a touch of Grace, is what we do best. Fortunately, the root causes of hunger often mesh with the root causes of child abuse. Since we are already targeting those root causes we have a real chance to make a difference. Please contact George Marquez for more information on how we can help.
George Marquez at Grace at 661-940-5272.
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