TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – The Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center and CASA are raising awareness for child abuse through their first annual “Save Jane” event.

This is a virtual, Facebook live event due to COVID-19. Leaders from the Texarkana community will read the names of abused children in the Texarkana area.

Executive Director of CASA, Brandy Eldridge, said the number of reported cases has gone down during the pandemic. Simply because the child is home with the abuser and no one is around to report it.

“Time for our community to just listen to the names. Cause when you hear ‘John Doe age four’… ‘Jane Doe age six’… And you hear those twelve-hundred names that take over an hour and a half to read hopefully you’ll understand that this is a crisis that child abuse is here,” said Eldridge.

The Save Jane event started in Dallas, Texas in 2019. This is a child abuse awareness event. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) group partnered with the Children’s Advocacy Center in Texarkana, Texas this year. Their goal is to provide hope, healing, and justice.

“If you suspect child abuse it is your obligation to report it. Whether if you’re uncomfortable with it or not that is beside the point of a child being abused,” said Eldridge.

To report a case locally, contact CASA Texarkana by phone at (903) 792-1030 or email at casatxk@casatexarkana.org.

The event starts at 10:00 a.m. on Facebook Live.