NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds in the United States and that harsh reality hits home for a popular Midstate radio personality.
She sat down with WSMV to share her story and challenged all of us to take action to protect our community’s children.
“I remember as a little kid, praying to God to take me in my sleep,” admitted M.J. Lucas. “I wanted to…to…God to take me, to die honestly, as a kid, I didn’t want to deal with it anymore.”
The beloved morning-drive radio personality shared her traumatic childhood, where at the age of 6, she was sexually abused by a family member.
“There’s a lot of secrets involved,” Lucas said. “I didn’t end up telling anybody, this went on until I finally was able to get out and go on my own”
The Department of Children’s Services reported that calls to the Tennessee Child Abuse Hotline increased by 61% over the last 12 months, compared to the year before.
“They are startling,” said Carrie Norvell of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Rutherford County. “We see anywhere from 2 to 4 children walk through our door every single day. That’s new cases, so that’s 50 to 60 children every single month.”
Those numbers are just from Rutherford County.
“We’re using that ‘5 Days of Action’ to educate people on the five steps to protecting children from child sexual abuse,” explained Norvell.
She said those five steps highlighted all this week, are critical for all of us to know:
- Learn the facts
- Minimize opportunity
- Talk about it
- Recognize the signs
- (and) React responsibly
“I made that promise,” Lucas said. “If I survive, God I promise, if you open that door, if my message if my story needs to be told, give me the courage to be able to walk through that door and be able to tell my story.”
M.J. hopes her story helps other victims.
“I want people to know you can survive and you can thrive,” Lucas said. “There is, there’s hope, there’s healing on the other side of this.
For more information on the “5 Days of Action” and an upcoming Hometown Heroes Walk for Children, click here.