MountainStar Family Relief Nursery’s ‘Walk with a Child’ event spotlights efforts to help vulnerable children, families

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- MountainStar Family Relief Nursery says its mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect through free community support and therapeutic services.

Families in the program deal with extreme poverty, housing instability, food insecurities, mental or physical illnesses, incarceration issues, domestic violence, and a history of family violence.

A new fundraising event held Tuesday evening, "Walk with a Child," featured interactive exhibits that put a spotlight on the challenges faced by vulnerable children and their families, and offered ways to engage, support and uplift those families.

Development Director Staley Micken talked about the role MountainStar plays: “We bring kids in to therapeutic classrooms. All of these stories really talk about the difference when kids come to us, and we're able to really understand what the trauma they've experienced and how can we help them overcome that and get back on track.

"We work with the parents as well. We go in and we provide home visit in-services to the parents, so we can support whatever is happening for that.”

Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang said he support the program’s efforts: “MountainStar does incredibly important work in our community, supporting families to reduce the incidence of child abuse and child neglect.”

Kennady, a volunteer said she enjoys the work: “I like being able to help out kids."

The event had a variety of interactive exhibits, teaching attendees how chaotic home environments impact a child, and later in adulthood, as well as the greater community.

Mountain Star’s ‘Walk with a Child’ event was part of the larger ‘Keep Kids Safe’ campaign, which goes hand in hand with April being Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The goal is to raise $100,000 by the end of May. As of Tuesday, they'd raised about $33,000. If you'd like more information or to donate, check out their website.