Pinwheels on Bedford -- A Stamford Art Installation to Commemorate National Child Abuse Prevention Month

If you haven’t seen it yet … then head to Latham Park in downtown Stamford.

The community art project designed to raise child abuse awareness was installed on Sunday, and the 1,864 pinwheels planted on the lawn of the Bedford Street park commemorates the 1,864 children abused and neglected in Fairfield County last year. The installation is designed to serve as a visible reminder that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and it will remain on view through Thursday, April 23.

The plantings were led by Kids in Crisis TeenTalk Counselor from the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE), Chante Moreno. She was joined by more than 40 student volunteers from AITE, the AITE Interact Club, and the Kids in Crisis Youth Corps. The TeenTalk program places trained Kids in Crisis counselors in area middle and high schools to provide a safe, confidential outlet for students struggling with difficult circumstances — assisting students to build coping skills and, when necessary, find safe havens.

“We are so grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s Pinwheels for Prevention Project,” Kids in Crisis. Executive Director Shari Shapiro said in a statement. “The planted pinwheels are a powerful visual statement and help spread awareness about this important cause.”

The students also distributed informative flyers about child abuse and neglect and action steps for child abuse prevention to passerby during the day of installations.

Kids in Crisis (www.kidsincrisis.org) is the state’s only free, round-the-clock agency providing intervention services, counseling, and emergency, temporary shelter for children newborn to 17 years old. Since its founding in 1978, Kids in Crisis has helped more than 124,000 children and families from Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton.

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Contributed photos courtesy of Kids in Crisis.