Members of the community were invited to take an in-depth view into the world of a few young lives that have suffered from the torment of child abuse, sexual abuse and neglect at The Lisa Project Exhibit. The presentation is on display in the parking area of the Bakersfield Heart Hospital throughout the month of February.
The 20-minute presentation gives visitors an audio and visual experience of abuse through a child’s perspective. When first entering the exhibit visitors are provided an audio device that allows them to listen to a narration of each individual story while being guided through a number of rooms that realistically resemble the environments of those true-life victims portrayed in the project.
Visitors are then given an opportunity to view several news stories of child abuse cases that have occurred here in Kern County. “It only takes a minute to help a child,” said local project organizer Jana Davis.
The traveling exhibit is free of charge to the public. It was created to promote awareness and to educate people about child abuse and the number of cases occurring and being reported daily within our own communities.
The Lisa Project Exhibit, named after one child’s true story of abuse, travels to communities in the effort of collaborating with local agencies and organizations for sponsorship.
By invitation, the exhibit has now come to Bakersfield courtesy of ASPIRAnet, the Bakersfield Heart Hospital and several other local agency sponsors.
The project is a production of creator Gene Hardin and the Child Abuse Prevention Council of San Joaquin County, in Stockton, California. After touring the “King Tut” exhibit with his wife Lindy Turner-Hardin, executive director of the CAPC in Stockton, Hardin came up with the idea of creating the project. “Why can’t we take a child by the hand figuratively and let them tell you their story,” said Hardin.
Hardin added that they wanted to create a realistic view of the world of child abuse without trying to shock people of the tragedy behind it.
“We didn’t want to turn it into something like a horror film. So why not let the children tell their own story?” said Hardin. He hopes the exhibit will inspire visitors into paying more attention to the reality of child abuse and keep the public aware that it continues to occur in our own communities.
“Child abuse isn’t only about a mom screaming at her child in the department or grocery store,” explained Hardin. “There are laws about definite abuse and children are being pulled from their homes.”
According to The Lisa Project, each day in Kern County there are approximately 41 reports of children being abused, and yet studies have indicated that those reported are only 40 percent of cases to actually occur.
The cycle continues as 30 percent of those child abuse victims move on as adults to become abusers of their own children. In cases of child fatalities due to abuse or neglect, 75 percent of those are under the age of 4 years. The exhibit will be on display free to the public throughout February on Thursdays and Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
Due to the strong content there is a PG-13 rating and children under age 13 must be accompanied by or guardian.