By Executive Director Claire Louge
Over the last several years, the team at PCAAZ has been working to define what the prevention of child abuse and neglect really means – what it looks like, how it happens, and how you can tell it’s working.
At last year’s Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Conference, we focused on joy – our theme was prevention made visible is joy - in that you can tell prevention is happening when people feel a sense of joy. As I listened to our four amazing keynote speakers, and heard the reflections on the conference experience from our participants, another theme started to take shape. Joy happens when prevention happens, but what makes prevention happen? What makes prevention possible?
Belonging. It came up everywhere. Prevention made visible is joy, but prevention is only possible through belonging. Prevention made possible is belonging.
So we've made that the theme of our 2025 CAP Conference. I’ve been sitting with what belonging means ever since.
I’ve realized that one of the most powerful drives in my own life is the pursuit of belongingness. We all have a drive to belong for who we are. Feeling like we don’t belong can be one of the most painful and destructive forces in our lives. We’ve all felt this to some degree (man, middle school can be rough). We know the feeling of being rejected for who we are. Some know this feeling more than others.
Belongingness is not the same as fitting in, but we may try to fit in so that we can feel we belong. But changing who we are to fit in is not the same as belonging – it can actually feel more lonely and disconnected.
But when we feel we really belong? That unlocks our ability to flourish.
One of the most powerful determining forces in childhood is whether or not a child feels a sense of belongingness. One of the most powerful determinations of a happy, healthy, and meaningful life is our sense of belongingness. Children need to belong. Families need to feel they belong in communities. You need to belong. I need to belong.
At our 2025 conference, I invite you to join me in exploring what belongingness means, for you in your life and work. Belongingness is core to everything we do. At the CAP Conference, we will delve into what it means to belong, and how we can create a solid sense of belongingness for the children and families we serve, for the people we work with, and for ourselves.
Join us. Registration opens April 14. You belong.
Visit pcaaz.org/capconf