There are so many hurting kids out there who need a new home. Thank God for good foster parents and adoptive parents who don’t judge these kids but love them through. Check out this powerful video on the importance of really understanding hurting kids.

The video can be found at http://vimeo.com/73172036. It is also available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOeQUwdAjE0&feature=youtu.be.

ReMoved Past 2 is also now available

The makers of ReMoved explain the reason behind the videos: Continue reading

Here at Hope for Hurting Kids, we strive to point you to resources which can help kids, teens, and those who love them deal with some of the many issues kids face today. One way we choose to do that is to offer extensive boards on Pinterest compiling resources and links to resources on a variety of topics. This allows us to make more resources available quicker to help you. You can find our collection of boards on a variety of topics at http://pinterest.com/hope4hurtkids/.

On Pinterest, our goal is to link to as many resources as possible which may be useful. In order to accomplish this, we do not always review each resource which we pin. We also realize that some people are not Pinterest users (note: you do not have to have a Pinterest account in order to utilize our resources). So, we have decided to feature the best of our Pinterest boards here on the site on a regular basis in a feature we call Pinterest Spotlight.

This week we turn to our “Emotions – Anxiety and Stress” Board which features resources to help kids and teens deal with things like anxiety, fear and panic attacks. For kids, these emotions can be the result of circumstances in their lives (like divorce of their parents, bullying, etc.) or just a general sense of impending doom.

Today’s featured pin comes to us from anxietyreliefstree.com which is a website developed by Jennifer Johnson as a result of her own struggles with anxiety. In this infographic, she offers five tips for helping people of any age to relieve anxiety.

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When you think about hurting kids, one of the first thing that comes to mind is children who have been abused or neglected.  Over 1.2 million children suffer harm from child abuse or neglect per year. That equates to 17.1 children per 1,000 or approximately 1 in every 58 children. When children who are endangered by abuse or neglect are added to those figures, the numbers rise to over 2.9 million kids or 39.5 per thousand. That equates to one in every 25 children. The reach and magnitude of abuse and neglect are as varied as the forms of abuse and the types of children who experience it.

In the article “When The Bough Breaks,” Martin Johnson wrote:

“Perhaps the most important part of understanding child abuse is realizing the depth of physical and emotional pain the child victim must feel. As adults in ministry to children, we can see the crisis intellectually, yet it’s extremely difficult for us to genuinely empathize with the hurt and isolation the child feels – unless we’ve felt it too. And sometimes we simply don’t recognize that real, serious, ongoing abuse is taking place in the homes of some of the children we minister to every week. Sometimes, we just don’t realize the problem.”

WHAT ARE ABUSE AND NEGLECT?

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If you discover that a child is being abused, or if a child comes right out and tells you, it can be an uncomfortable situation, and it is often difficult to find the “right thing” to say to them. Many times there is no “right thing” to say, but you can be prepared by knowing how to handle the situation. Here are some suggestions.

1. Avoid Denial and Remain Calm

If your actions, tone or words reveal a sense of denial or shock or disgust, the child may react by shutting down. You need to remain as calm and as reassuring as you possibly can. Don’t be afraid to talk about it. If children sense that you are afraid to talk, they will not bring it up and they will definitely not open up. Remember, children don’t benefit from “not thinking about it” or “putting things out of their mind.” They benefit from talking about their emotions and working through what they have experienced.

2. Listen to what they have to say and empathize with them

So many times, our natural inclination is to want to jump straight to problem solving or solution mode. A child who has been abused or neglected, and is willing to talk to you about it, is crying out to be listened to. Be a person that they can talk to, cry with and mourn with. Remember that empathy is not the same thing as feeling sorry for them.

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There’s a new way to get help here on Hope 4 Hurting Kids.  This past weekend, we launched our presence and efforts to accumulate useful information on Pinterest.  If you’re on Pinterest, you know that it can be a wealth of information. Unfortunately, sometimes it is so much information that it’s hard to find exactly what you’re looking for. Our goal here at Hope 4 Hurting Kids is to draw your attention to information and resource to help young people who are hurting because of the events and circumstances in their lives. We will continue to do that here on this blog, but Pinterest gives us an opportunity and ability to share more information in a more immediate way.

On our Pinterest site, you will find boards (a collection of pins/links to useful information and resources) in the following categories:

• Resources for Hurting Kids
• Abuse and Neglect
• Divorce and Family Disruption
• Emotions – General
• Emotions – Anger
• Emotions – Anxiety and Fear
• Emotions – Depression
• Emotions – Grief
• Emotions – Stress
• Forgiveness
• Group Activities
• Holidays
• Incarcerated Parents
• Inspiration
• Modern Families – Coparenting
• Modern Families – Single Parent Families
• Modern Families – Step/Blended Families
• Poverty / Financial Issues
• Self-Harm / Cutting
• Suicide
• Stories from the Front Lines
• Dealing with Tragedy

We will also be adding additional boards as we see the need.  Make sure to head over Pinterest and check us out. If you are a Pinterest user, and you’d like to be able to post to our boards, please contact wayne@hope4hurtingkids.com and request to be added as a contributor (please indicate which boards you would like to be able to post to).

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The things we go through don’t always make sense. In the midst of our pain, it is hard to step back and ask what the purpose of it might be. Rest assured of the fact that when you are going through something difficult, God’s plan and God’s desire is to help you to grow stronger and wiser through that pain. It might not be easier to go through, but it is comforting, even in the throws of pain, to know that there is something good that can come out it.

Is your family different? Have your parents divorced? Have you done things that you are ashamed of? Did your mom leave when you were young? Did you ever know your Dad? Whatever the environment you are in, or come from, looks like, it doesn’t have to define who you are! It may explain certain things about you, but you don’t have to let it define you!  Like the beautiful flower springing up from the dry cracked ground around it, you are capable of being so much more than your past. Do not lose hope! Finally, no matter where life has you, it’s important to remember that there is a brighter future out there no matter how dark things might seem.

Sometimes the pressure and pain of life can make it seem almost unbearable.  In those moments, many children, teens and young adults find themselves contemplating suicide.  Many actually get to such a point of despair that they attempt suicide, and tragically way too many every year actually do take their own lives. Now, there is help! This booklet from The Hope Line titled Understanding Suicide is designed for those working with kids who may be contemplating suicide.

It includes sections on:

• Myths & Truths
• Risk Factors
• The Most Common Methods of Suicide
• Teen Suicide Warning Signs
• How to Help a Suicidal Person
• A Portrait in Words
• When Support is available

If you know a hurting young person, this booklet will be a valuable resource!  CLICK HERE to download a free copy of Understanding Suicide from The Hope Line!

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My mother died days after I turned six years old.  For six years, my father raised myself and my three brothers by himself to fulfill a promise he had made to my mother.  When I was twelve, my father remarried and we plunged head first into the world of step families.  At the time, it all seemed so very normal to me at the same time all the while knowing that my family was different.  There were some struggles and some hard times, but that’s family.  That’s my story.  We all have a story, and for those of us who did not grow up in “traditional families” often have stories marked by loss, pain and longing for something we felt like we should have had.

Do you fit into any of the following categories as a kid?

• Growing up or grew up without a father?
• Growing up or grew up without a mother?
• Live or lived in single-parent home?
• Live or lived in a step-family?
• Live or lived with unmarried cohabiting parent?
• Have gay parents?
• Have step or half siblings?
• Live or lived with your grandparents?
• Live or lived with an aunt, uncle or other relative?
• Live or lived with a friends’ family?
• Growing up or grew up in foster care?
• Growing up or grew up in some other environment other than with your natural married parents?

If so, we want to hear your story and give you the opportunity to get your story out there.  Please comment on this article below and share with others.  Together, let’s share our stories (the good, the bad and the ugly) to help others in the same situation.

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No matter where this holiday may find you this year, and no matter what emotional state this holiday finds you in, at Hope 4 Hurting Kids, we want you to know that you are loved and to wish you a very Merry Christmas from Hope 4 Hurting Kids!

If you are struggling with this holiday, we encourage you to find help. Check out our various articles on dealing with holidays or one of our Help Centers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CojUP5nRidA

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

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