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THE SEA COAST ECHO
Blue ribbon campaign
Gwenn Myers (left), president ofthe Hancock County Exchange Club, and Bridget Logan (right), executive director ofthe South Mississippi Exchange Clubs Family Child Center, inform Yvonne Landry, Youth Court administrator, that the Hancock County Board of Supervisors has declared April as Child Abuse Awareness Month for the County. Myers and Logan kicked off the Exchange Club’s Blue Ribbon Campaign to spread awareness ofthe problem of child abuse at the Youth Court. They put large ribbons on public buildings and are passing out small ribbons for people to wear. Logan said South Mississippi is the worst area in the state for incidents of child abuse. The Family Child Center offers several services for abuse victims and their families, including a parent aide program to offer supportive services to families where there has been abuse; a court education program that orients a child before his court appearance; and. a multidisciplinary child abuse team that uses community agency representatives to coordinate investigations and develop community plans for physical and sexual abuse cases. (Echo staff photo by Traci Bonney)