Nestled in the back of the Eisenhower Health campus in Rancho Mirage, California sits the state-of the art Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, founded 35 years ago by the late Barbara and Frank Sinatra. Our organization was developed in response to the need to provide a child-friendly facility to treat victims of child abuse in the Coachella Valley and its bordering communities. Our non-profit 501C(3) provides mental health services which covers psychological counseling and psychiatric evaluations to children ages 3-18 who have been physically, sexually and emotionally abused, as well forensic services which cover forensic interviews, exams and child and family advocacy. These two components combined allow us to treat over 1,000 children per year.
In recent years we have expanded our reach with a focus on child abuse awareness and prevention. Through our Fight Child Abuse Campaign a forward thinking, highly successful Protect Yourself Rules animated video series was designed and launched to prevent abuse. The videos are segmented into three series and are directed at children in grades K-3, 4-6 and teenagers. Child advocates, therapists, and national scholars joined together in developing the animated video program, which is now utilized by teachers, school counselors, after school care workers, parents and many others the world over.
In the next few weeks we are excited to launch a newly developed campaign to compliment the animated video series. Together with gold-medal gymnast and advocate, Aly Raisman, the Center will introduce a new virtual event series on December 17 at 1PM EST on FightChildAbuse.org. By using various themes such as sports, gaming, travel, entertainment, beauty and fashion, the new program aims to bring child abuse prevention and awareness content to life by pairing those impacted by abuse with customized and interactive segments and animated conversation with characters from the Fight Child Abuse Campaign. These real-life personalities will discuss ways to help recognize and respond to abuse.
In Aly’s words “It’s critical that abuse awareness is discussed openly with children and as adults. It’s our responsibility to provide them with tools and strategies to recognize unsafe situations and encourage help-seeking behavior. During these especially challenging times, more kids find themselves at home, which isn’t always a safe environment. We need to empower them to use their voice and tell a trusted adult if they are being hurt, neglected or feel confused.”
During these extraordinarily challenging times, the scale of child abuse has amplified, and children are more vulnerable than ever due to the pandemic quarantine and limited resources to seek help. It is our hope that this new resource will help protect and advocate for those in need and create more awareness about this critical issue. We look forward to continuing our work and hope you’ll join us in our fight against child abuse.
To register for the first virtual event in the series with Aly Raisman, please visit www.FightChildAbuse.org/virtualseries
For more information about the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, please visit