Tulsa Leaders, Legislators Join Forces With Parent-Child Center To Combat Abuse

The Parent-Child Center of Tulsa raised awareness in April about child abuse and neglect.

The PCC met with city leaders and legislators about how they could help. One way the organization brought awareness to the problem was by planting thousands of pinwheels, representing each case of abuse in Tulsa County in 2023.

Driving down South Boston in Downtown Tulsa, some may have seen pinwheels lining part of the street. They weren't just there for decoration, each shining blade with a meaning.

"Those are representations and visual depictions of the number of children who were abused and neglected in Tulsa County in the fiscal year 2023," said The Parent Child Center of Tulsa's president and CEO, Melanie Anderegg.

She and her team placed the pinwheels on the lawn of their building.

"In Tulsa county alone, there were 2,711," she said.

That's only a fraction of the amount of child abuse cases in Oklahoma. Anderegg said there were more than 14,000 cases statewide.

"Child abuse and neglect should not happen," said Carol Bush, a former representative and advocate of The Parent and Child Center of Tulsa.

She said it's important for legislators to step away from writing bills and see how they're helping their communities.

"Meet with the staff, hear their stories, sometimes there's clients here and that we can hear the impact that some of the decisions that we're making in Oklahoma City and how it impacts their lives," Bush said.

Anderegg said having a relationship with lawmakers gets them one step closer to eliminating child abuse and neglect. "It's really important that we hold events like this to bring them home and really educate them on what we're seeing locally so they know how to fight the fight against child abuse and neglect at the capital," Anderegg said.

The Parent-Child Center of Tulsa encourages people to wear blue in April to bring awareness during child abuse prevention month.