[Gretta]

Dear Students,

Please watch the following video and post your comments on or before 2/7/2018.
Thank you.

Mary Ellen Wilson case: http://bit.ly/HUS3605Childcruelty

• This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by Gretta.

[Gretta]

Please read the following and post your comments/reflections

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/parentalsubabuse.pdf

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by Gretta.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by Gretta.

[Gretta]

Please post your comments on this thread re: Mary Ellen Wilson case.

[Julia]

It is a very touching story, I imagine that the story of Mary Ellen was one of many that was discovered on time, unfortunately many passed unnoticed. This particular case helped to raise awareness in the society of that time and even today in this society in which we live Mary Ellen’s case it reaffirm us the problem of child abuse in our communities, of course, now there is much more control than in comparison of that time, but even so we need to work more for the protection of child abuse care in our day . Thanks to the good action of Etta Angell Wheeler that could intervene on time this case was made known to society.
It is surprising that nowadays in the 21st century there are still those kinds of child abuse in our society like Mary Ellen’s. Many times the foster parents are a blessing for many children who suffer child abuse from their own parents but other times they are a real misfortune for those children who are placed under their care.

[Aszina]

The Mary Ellen story is very touching and marked the beginning of children’s welfare. It’s great to see someone cares about the girls out cry and tried everything in her power to get the girl help. The fact that she was saved by a man that formed the ASPCA is amazing. Although she wasn’t an animal she was still rescued under those conditions. This man had a heart and felt for anything and anyone getting abused. Because of him we now have child rights. Dispite Mary Ellen’s upbringing she was able to live a age satisfying life. She is the history of child welfare.All children should be loved.

[Ivory Chavis]

The Mary Ellen Wilson case was an influential and significant case that led to the establishment of the NYSPCC. This details of Mary Ellen’s abuse was very hard to hear. She was locked away in the closet, she slept on a sheet of cardboard, and constantly beaten. It is always difficult to comprehend why parents severely abuse their children and it always makes me wonder, as a human service professional, what influencing factors and circumstances play a role in abuse. I understand that this was a different era i.e no telephones and no electricity but this also helps to paint a picture of how their circumstances were at the time. It was a blessing that Henry Bergh, the founder of ASPCA, rescued Mary Ellen. Even though we have so many set standards put into place now to prevent childhood abuse, it is still occurring and there is more work to be done to help those children who are being abused.

[nyay nyay]

I feel very sorry to Mary Ellen Wilson and at the same time, I am very disappointed at her mother. I can’t imagine myself as a kid without friends. We all need friends and happiness no matter how old we are. I wonder what kind of mother she was. Although I understand back in the day life was tough, it is absolutely unfair to treat kids like the way Mary’s own mother did to her. Imagine you get beat up every day by your own mother, have no friends and not allow to talk with anybody, how would you feel about your life? I believe every child deserves to be loved and cared from adults especially from their caregivers. Her childhood life was really unpleasant. Fortunately, I am so happy for her that later she was rescued by others and have lived a long life.

[Odalys Cortes]

Mary Ellen Wilson case was the start of ASPCA, we have made progress in child welfare but it still needs work. It’s sad to hear about Mary Ellen Wilson case and what childhood she had. I can’t understand why a parent would abuse their child or any child. Glad to know during that time Etta Angell Wheeler had the compassion for others spoke up and took a stand, to let the people know that child abuse is not okay. Getting Henry Bergh involve to fight for child protection rights and recusing her was such an amazing outcome, and hopefully we keep working to protect children from abuse that still go on today.

[Kharyn Benjamin]

It is sad to hear how a parent can treat their child with such cruelty. Children are vulnerable and they come into the world trusting their parents and to hear Mary Ellen was neglected by the very people she was suppose to trust. Henry Bergh taking that step to rescue Mary Ellen was noble because he knew someone was in need although she wasn’t an animal and he took that step to help. It is refreshing to know she was able to be saved. Her case shed light to child abuse of that time and paved a way for children rights to come about. Although we are in a new century parents sill abuse their children however, they have consequences for their actions.

[Egzona Dedushi]

After watching this video I felt so bad for what Mary Ellen Wilson had to go through. I can’t even imagine my reaction, if i were to see a child being treated like that in this day and age. Even though i understand that sadly there are children who are still living under similar conditions as Mary Ellen Wilson. Though, the story of Mary Ellen Wilson is so sad something great came from it. I am mostly angered by Mary Ellen Wilson’s life because she was being treated so poorly. She had less rights than an animal according to the law. Something good came out of Mary Ellen Wilson’s story. Her experience and her story opened the door to opportunity for so many children after her time. Hopefully we are able to find even more new ways to help children.

[Sasure]

The story of Mary Ellen Wilson is a tragic story. A innocent child who just wanted to be loved instead was treated horribly. She was abused both emotionally and physically. I can’t imagine what she had to endure during that time. I remember in a Human Service class I took at BMCC went over how animals were being rescued before children were. There were no laws against child abuse but there were laws against animal abuse. When I heard this it made me so sad. There are many children that were in the same position as she was at that time and sadly in our time as well. But through her pain and suffering a great change was able to develop and it continues to do so. No child should go through such traumatic events from the people they love. Mary Ellen Wilson’s story reminds us how far we have come and how far we can go to make sure children everywhere are protected and loved

[Zerica]

After listening to the video, it really felt heavy on my heart. It reminds me of my childhood days when I would hear my neighbors crying from been beaten by their father who would also swear at them with curse words. Mary Ellen Wilson case is just a very unfortunate and sad situation. I realized that child labor was from way back then. I can see that she did not have a childhood, she was abused both verbally and physically and there was not a law to protect her. Thanks to “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” who fought and find ways that abusive children should be protected. The Mary Ellen Wilson was the beginning of children’s right in America. No child or children should be abuse in any way shape or form. Now the NYSPCC who has been soliciting and making sure that all children voices are head. There are several child abuse cases and far way too many. Lets keep the fire burning by protecting our children of tomorrow.

[Gretta]

Please post your comments here on Violence and addiction: Impact on children.

[Julia]

The family is important not only for love and understanding but also because it is the core of our society. It is also important because there you learn to live together if the child or adolescent lives in an atmosphere of abuse, disrespect and violence is like a small stain in the society that is enlarged over time, the child or adolescent is going to treat in the same way those who are at their around in an abusive violent way, and disrespect others.

That is a big problem we have in our society, the drugs that are sold in many neighborhoods even in the schools. There are criminals who give them away to make young people fall into vice, and when that happen and they become addicted, so much is the despair to consume the drug that they can steal. That’s the reason for mistreating, neglecting and abusing their children. Drugs can cause a person to lose respect and values for the family.

In other cases, parents who use drugs treat each other badly, and make insults and blow the daily bread. Any of these problems can lead the child and youth to loneliness and settle of abandoned.

Good thing that there are those programs that assist parents to be able to stop the vice of drugs and help those children abused by their parents. Like for example, Illinois and Oregon have implemented mentoring and coaching programs for parents in child welfare in need of substance abuse treatment. And previous projects in Delaware and New Hampshire collocated substance abuse counselors within child welfare agencies. But today we need more resources and more programs are needed to combat this evil that is destroying our society.

[Ivory Chavis]

After reading the article on Parental Substance Abuse and the Child Welfare System, I found that the stats related to the number of children who live with one substance-dependent or substance-abusing parent (8.3 Million) is alarming. I did not realize that there is a large portion of children who live in households that are being affected by parental substance abuse. However, I did know that there is a correlation between parental substance abuse and child maltreatment. There are several risk factors that are apparent such as child neglect, child abuse, unsupervised children, and many others. The Child Welfare System faces many challenges when it comes to helping families who are affected by parental substance abuse. Even with such challenges, I believe the Child Welfare System is flawed in some ways. Our discussion in class pointed out that there is a high turnover rate in the Child Welfare System for various reasons. Staff members get burnt out, they may become overwhelmed, and they are underappreciated. In my opinion, there needs to be a change within the Child Welfare System to help address their high turnover rate and they should begin by working inside out meaning starting with the employees and then working gradually on other issues.