Rationale for the "Reaching
Out: America" Child Abuse Monument
The graceful "Reaching Out"
Monument is a remarkable work of art, visually and
socially. It clearly works to respond to aesthetic,
emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and society.
The incidence of child abuse is staggering.
We hear tragic stories in the media daily. The statistics
are mind-boggling. Unfortunately, the stories are
true and the statistics are probably underestimated.
This tragedy implores a public response.
A fundamental premise of Dr. Irving's
Monument vision was that people who have confronted
abuse have a special wisdom that can assist others.
Their triumphs over the challenges of adversity make
them role models for all of society. The messages
on the quilt squares of the Monument speak of compassion
and the desire to make a difference.
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Through the Monument art and displays a wide range of
discussions on child abuse occur.
Wanting to make a difference in the lives of others
Sarah's sculpted quilt square says, "You are never
alone. There is always hope."
To determine the nature of the design, process for creating
and associated activities and messages of a national child
abuse monument Dr. Irving held focus groups and a major
research forum.
The art of the monument speaks for the survivors who
reach out through their sculpted quilt squares and is
a voice of universal messages for all touched by the
tragedies of child abuse.
Dr. Irving has designed a monument that provides a voice
and a process for validation, acknowledgement and healing.
The monument moves beyond the bronze through public
displays and awareness campaigns.
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During a cross-country tour of the
monument art and displays we met a woman who had
lived with the secret of child abuse until major
heart surgery in her mid-sixties. The life and death
risk of the upcoming surgery compelled her to unburden
to her surgeon the night before her operation. The
woman had been abused as a child, had grown up,
married, raised several children. She never told
her husband because of the shame she felt, the way
people judged victims at that point in time and
her concern that if she had told him, years earlier,
he might not have married her. When we met, she
and her shocked husband were in therapy and on the
way to recovery of themselves and their marriage.
She told us her story because
she felt that the Monument was telling the story
for everyone who, like her, had been silenced. The
Monument spoke to them and for them.
"Reaching Out: America"
is a healing monument whose time has come!
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