|
IMPORTANT NEW CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION DOCUMENTARY Houston - April, 2006
On April 14th & 30th, Channel 8, HoustonPBS, broadcast a newly produced television documentary, The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence, an hour long program on child abuse prevention targeting parents and future parents. The first documentary in a series on violence prevention, The Brutal Truth: A Violence Documentary, was broadcast in 2001 and subsequently won three Emmy Awards for excellence from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Major underwriters for the project were the Swalm Foundation and the John P. McGovern Foundation. Numerous other foundations, corporations and individuals have also donated to the project. Co-producers for The Brutal Truth Project are Dr. Keith A. Robinson and Carrie Woliver of Health Media Network, L.L.C., and Rick Christie, president of Studio W, is the director of the production. The second in a series of programs on violence prevention, The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence, presented vital new information for parents and parents-to-be on how to raise their children in non-violent ways. Using the advice of experts on the program, parents can learn how important it is to understand the stages of a child’s development to keep from abusing their children. Stressful situations in day-to-day parenting can produce emotional responses from parents, often resulting in abusive situations. Parents also learn what it truly means to neglect a child, and what severe damage can be done unwittingly. The documentary features national child experts such as T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., pediatrician and professor emeritus at Harvard University, whose “TouchPoints” help inform parents of the pivotal points in a child’s life which may produce the most stress. Child psychiatrist, Bruce Perry, PhD, of ChildTrauma Academy, reveals how lack of touching and hugging can actually stop a child’s brain from developing naturally. Experts from agencies who practice child abuse prevention offer more important advice, and two child abuse victims share their compelling stories. Topics covered are: Good Parenting, Bullying, Child Abuse and Neglect, Sexual Abuse, Temper Tanprums, and Self Esteem. Host of the program, Dr. Keith A. Robinson, who is also co-producer, says, “The experts agree that the knowledge of child development is vital as a basis for good parenting, yet most parents think that they magically inherit parenting skills they need when the baby arrives. In reality, most parents repeat what their parents did, which may be good or bad. Statistics show that those who are abused as children often become abusers themselves. In this program, we show how this cycle of violence can be broken!” Guest interviews included in The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence, in addition to those already mentioned, are Estella Olguin of Harris County Children’s Protective Service; Sylvia Garcia of AVANCE; Janet Pozmantier and Becky Koch of Childbuilders; Sharon Bayus of Innovative Alternatives; Elaine Stolte of the Children’s Assessment Center; Lidya Osadchey of ESCAPE Family Resource Center; and Judge Bonnie Hellums of the Harris County Family Court. The Brutal Truth Project has been underwritten by Houston area foundations, corporations, and individuals, with the help of non-profit partner, the Greater Houston Community Foundation.
Topic of Brutal Truth Film to be Child Abuse Prevention Houston – March, 2005 In response to research presented by Kevin T. Kirkpatrick, of Prevent Child Abuse America, The Brutal Truth Project has narrowed the focus for its next documentary and plans to feature prevention of child abuse, a subset of the issue of family violence. At a February seminar in Dallas, Kirkpatrick, vice president of Prevent Child Abuse America, presented new research showing that awareness campaigns have been successful in making the American public more aware of the problem of abuse and neglect, but have failed in reducing actual statistics. Public attention has been linked to high-profile, dramatic cases reported in the media, and as a result the public commonly believes that most of these atrocities are perpetrated by cruel “monsters,” with most child abuse happening in poorer families. The trouble is that such cases are rare, and serve to create thoughts of “those horrible people,” and “I would never do that to my child.” In common child abuse cases, while parents may be ashamed of their actions, they do not think of themselves as abusers. Research has shown that parents sometimes abuse their children because they are overwhelmed by the unexpected responsibility of parenting, or by the stress of illness, job loss, or simply do not understand child development. The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence will demonstrate how even less extreme behaviors can constitute child abuse. Emphasis will be placed on the necessity of understanding child development, the importance of the support of families and friends as well as successful programs in the Houston area that are effective in teaching child abuse prevention skills.
Swalm Makes $50,000 Grant to Project Houston – December, 2004 The Brutal Truth Project received a grant of $50,000 from the Swalm Foundation for the production of their violence prevention documentary series. The Swalm Foundation is one of Houston’s leading private foundations. “Receiving funds from the Swalm Foundation is a real honor for us,” said Carrie Woliver, co-producer of The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence, the next documentary to be produced. “They are a flagship organization, and we look at their donation, not simply as a lead gift, but also as an important stamp of approval for the importance of our project.” The Swalm Foundation supports charitable activities in the areas of domestic and child abuse, homelessness, women’s and children’s welfare, social welfare services, homeless services, drug prevention and rehabilitation, physical and mental rehabilitation, literacy and disease prevention. The Brutal Truth Project has produced a documentary on youth violence, The Brutal Truth: a violence documentary, for which they won three Emmy® awards. The second one will look at the causes, signs and symptoms of child abuse, effective child abuse prevention strategies and will also highlight successful programs in the Houston area. The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence will also involve a live forum broadcast immediately after the documentary, featuring national and local experts. A campaign to distribute both of the Brutal Truth films to social service agencies, schools and corporate human resources departments will follow, to ensure that the documentary is seen by as many people as possible.
Brutal Truth Announces New Non-profit Partner Houston – November, 2004 Producers of the Brutal Truth Project have announced that the Greater Houston Community Foundation has replaced Sam Houston State University as the lead non-profit partner for its second documentary, The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence. The Greater Houston Community Foundation will handle all funds for the new Brutal Truth film and will own the copyrights. GHCF began operations in 1995, and ended 2003 with $110.9 million in assets under management in 300 funds. It is a public charity under federal tax law, providing a means for many donors to invest in philanthropic activity around Houston and across the United States. GHCF also provides information on local charitable issues and matches donors with organizations that best reflect their interests. Sam Houston State University (SHSU) was the original sponsoring non-profit partner through its acclaimed Department of Communications. SHSU opted out of the partnership this fall, because some entities at the university were competing for grants from the same foundations being solicited. The university is still involved, however, by supplying students who will be involved behind-the-scenes during the filming of the documentaries, receiving valuable on-site training. A portion of the original grants to The Brutal Truth Project at SHSU will be given as scholarships to the Department of Communications students in the future. The Brutal Truth Project has produced one documentary The Brutal Truth: a violence documentary, which received three Emmy ® awards for individual craft achievement. In light of recent ground-breaking research, the second film, The BrutalTruth: Protecting the Family from Violence, will inform people not only about the causes and symptoms of child abuse, but also discuss ways to prevent it, and will highlight programs in the Houston area that are effective in teaching necessary prevention skills. Rick Christie, Emmy award-winning director and team leader, will direct and edit the new documentary.
McGovern Foundation Gives Major Gift Houston – November, 2004 The producers of The Brutal Truth Project: Surviving the Attack on the Family television documentary series proudly announce the receipt of a major gift for its Texas-wide production in the amount of $50,000 from the John P. McGovern Foundation, the major funder for the pilot film The Brutal Truth: A violence documentary, broadcast in Houston in 2002. Recognized by The National Academy of Television Arts & Science, it received three Emmy Awards for individual craft achievement for excellence in production quality. Collaborators on the not-for-profit Brutal Truth Project are Health Media Network, L.L.C., Studio W, Inc., Sam Houston State University, and the Greater Houston Community Foundation. After completion, the second in the series, The Brutal Truth: Protecting the Family from Violence, will be broadcast on Houston PBS and will identify the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect and educate parents on successful ways to raise children in today’s world. Successful Houston area violence prevention programs will be spotlighted, and following initial broadcast, a live forum will be held to enable viewers to talk directly to a panel of experts. After airing, the series will be distributed widely to agencies that deal with families, to schools, corporate human resources departments, law enforcement agencies, clinics, and organizations such as the Red Cross. Producers Keith Robinson and Carrie Woliver have been researching family violence and with the help of their advisory counsel, made up of local, state and national experts in the field, are confident that by using the powerful medium of television their public awareness series can be used as a life-changing tool. |
 |
|||||
|
|
|||||
 |
|||||
|
