Bethesda high schoolers wear t-shirts to highlight help for child abuse victims

BETHESDA, Md. (7News) — A group of Bethesda high schoolers are showing their support for fellow students using more than words during Child Abuse Prevention Month.

During the month of April, the teens are wearing special shirts. On the front, it simply says, ‘Need help?’ The back has lifesaving information for the Childhelp Hotline. The phone number is a critical resource for child abuse victims and survivors.

“This could be my neighbor, this could be a student at my school, this could be anybody,” said Gus Dupin, a senior at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School.

The 17-year-old started a club on campus this school year to shine a light on an often-hidden world.

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“When a student talks to another student, it’s a whole different story than when an adult does,” said Sara O’Meara, founder of Childhelp.

O’Meara founded Childhelp more than six decades ago and is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the hotline that utilizes a live chat portal, calls and messages to get kids the help they need.

“When abuse is going on, another child in the family let’s say, that wants to report it, cannot make a phone call but they can text, and we can send law enforcement there immediately,” she explained.

Celebrity ambassador John O’Hurley told 7News that he and his wife have supported the non-profit for years.

“You could fill, sadly, 10 football stadiums with the number of abused cases that are reported every year; 600,000 plus every year and the numbers don’t seem to go down,” he said.

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Child abuse survivor-turned-advocate Christina Ruiz said children can be confused about what exactly is happening.

“I would say to a child that is facing any type of hurt. Sometimes we don’t know what abuse is, we don’t know that we’re going through abuse, but it doesn’t feel good,” she explained. “Call 1-800-4-A-CHILD and there will be someone who will be able to support you.”

That could happen at home or in class.

“It doesn’t have to be about the normal idea of child abuse like beating, a parent hitting their child, it could be sexual assault, it could even be bullying, which is prevalent in high school. And it’s important that they hear about that from a fellow student,” said Dupin.

Hear it or read it on a purple shirt, to let them know they’re not alone.