Following a successful inaugural event, the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center will bring back the Over the Edge campaign to downtown Bowling Green.

This year, the center hopes to recruit 92 brave souls to raise $1,000 apiece to rappel down Stadium Park Plaza on Oct. 25-26. (Staff from Over the Edge Global, the company that helps organize the rappelling fundraisers, will oversee safety.)

The adrenaline-centric campaign seems poetic for child abuse, because it takes “courage to face extraordinary challenges,” said Jennifer Bryant, executive director of the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center.

Kentucky has the highest rate of child abuse in the U.S. at 22.2 per 1,000 children, more than double the national rate. In 2017, there were about 22,000 Kentucky child victims, including about 15,000 first-time victims, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau.

“We must do more to protect Kentucky children,” Bryant said.

Recently, there was a severe child abuse case in Warren County in which a man high on meth “stomped” on a 23-month-old child, who ended up in an intensive care unit, Bryant said.

In addition to physical abuse, neglect and maltreatment, there is a lot of sexual abuse, she said. “Research shows that one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday,” Bryant said.

Bryant believes the center provides critical services, including mental health therapy and in-office, forensic interviews. The interviews are thorough, in a safe space (as many cases of sexual assault happen inside the child’s own home) and involve one of the center’s four volunteer physicians, who are trained in recognizing the signs of abuse and can treat wounds or sexually transmitted diseases.

On Wednesday, Bryant thanked people who signed up for last year’s inaugural event, which generated about $65,000, and handed out awards to some of the biggest campaign contributors.

Connie Smith, president and CEO of Med Center Health, accepted an award on behalf of the health care provider. “We are always supportive of child advocacy because it’s critical to the community,” Smith said.

Paula Clark, a retired Butler County teacher and current BRACAC board member, also received an award for raising $2,600 through a letter-writing campaign.

She’s ready to help the campaign this year. “It’s a passion of mine,” Clark said.

– For more information or to register for the event, visit bracac.org/over-the-edge.