The Screening of documentaries about some of the terrible fates that falls upon
millions of children,
is a very important element of this Film Festival.
We wanted to do more last festival, but this is the launch of an
annual subject area of the Festival, at least until no children have to run to the
streets,
live homeless, come near the dark
specter of suicide, wander and
wonder in their states of autism,
suffer the direct abuse of the abusers,
murders, pedophiles, or mad heartless persons that would
cause them harm...we
will have this a part of the festival until the millions that are in the foster
homes, jails, detention centers, state
hospitals, and locked in backwards are being cared for...the
Paso Digital Festival
will be dedicated to helping the film makers that venture into the
dark stories
showing The State and
Fate of Children and Youth in the USA and the World.
We also pay tribute to the film
makers that dare to bleed their heart's out in the process of making
a film about something that is
so sad and heartbreaking, and conditions so dark, that as a film maker,
one must have a calling
or passion to cover subjects so dark. However, so important,
because it is
these filmmakers that
will help educate the culture, the government, or anyone that can
help, if
only they knew.
In a Forum we also want
to pay tribute and recognize some of the great programs around the
country that are on the
front lines trying to help stem the tide, and literally save
children and youth
from the dark fates that
so many experience.
We are proud to announce the
filmmakers and organizations below, they will be
part of the Festival and Forums,
with hopes to shed some light in the darkness of
millions of children and youth in
these United States of America...
YOU CAN HELP BY COMING TO
THE FESTIVAL, BUYING A PASS, BE A SPONSOR, VISIT THE WEBSITES
OF THE GROUPS THAT
WE ARE WORKING WITH KIDS IN NEED, AND HELP
THEM, DONATE VOLUNTEER. GET
INVOLVED IN HELPING, OR HELP THOSE
THAT ARE TRYING TO HELP...THIS
IS OUR FUTURE...WE WERE THE CHILDREN.
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE PROGRAMS, FILMS AND INDIVIDUALS
THAT ARE PART OF THE STATE AND FATE OF CHILDREN
FORUM,WE BEGIN WITH ONE OF THE LOCAL PROGRAMS...
AutismSpectrumCenter.com
CENTRAL COAST AUTISM SPECTRUM
CENTER
The goal of Autism Spectrum Center is to
strengthen quality-of-life for
individuals
with autism spectrum disorders, and the lives they touch,
through
compassion, commitment, and collaboration. With the Vision
to
become a state-of-the-art facility, centrally located in San
Luis Obispo;
the center will
bring together and empower individuals, families, and pro-
fessionals for
the purpose of improving the quality of life of those affected
by autism
spectrum disorders.
Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob
and Suzanne
Wright, (Bob Wright is CEO of NBC
Universal), grandparents of a
child with autism.
Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the
nation's largest autism
science and advocacy organization, dedicated
to funding
research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a
cure for
autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders;
and advocating for
the needs of individuals with autism and their
families. We
are proud of what we've been able to accomplish and
look forward
to continued successes in the years ahead.
At Autism
Speaks, our goal is to change the future
for all who struggle with
Children of the Night is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt
organization founded in 1979. We're dedicated to assisting
children between the ages
of 11 and 17 who are forced to prostitute on the streets for
food to eat
and
a place to sleep. Since 1979 we have rescued girls and boys from
prostitution and the domination of vicious pimps. And we provide
all programs with the support of private donations.
We
are making a difference in the lives of hundreds of children
each
year. Our commitment to rescuing these children from the ravages
of prostitution is shared with a small but committed group of
detectives,
FBI
agents, and prosecutors in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Ana,
Anaheim, San Diego, other areas of California, Las Vegas,
Portland, Billings, Montana; Seattle, Washington; Miami, New
York, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Phoenix, Hawaii and Washington D.C.
— all stops on the child prostitution circuit. And our numbers
keep growing as more and more dedicated individuals become
concerned about the welfare of these desperate children.
The National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) serves as the
federally designated national communication system for
runaway and homeless youth. Recognized as the oldest
hotline of its kind in the world, NRS, with the support of
more than 150 volunteers, handles an average of 100,000
calls annually—more than 3 million calls since it's inception.
NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources,
and education and prevention services to youth, families and
community members throughout the country 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Executive Director Maureen Blaha, and Katy Walsh,
Dir. of
Development will be
here Sunday Nov 23 for a presentation.
Founded in 1959 by Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp®
is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated
to helping victims of child abuse and neglect. Childhelp’s
approach focuses on prevention, intervention and treatment.
Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD,
operates 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the
United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and
Guam. Childhelp’s programs and services also include residential
treatment services (villages); children’s advocacy centers;
therapeutic foster care; group homes; child abuse prevention,
education and training; and the National Day of Hope®, part of
National Child Abuse Prevention Month every April. Several of
Childhelp’s programs were firsts, and continue to be studied by
professionals worldwide as "models that work."
John Reid, Executive
Dir of Child Help will attend the Film Festival.
To a hero of mine, a man that I met and feel that
is a
brother in arms in the war to help children and youth,
Mr. John Walsh...we love you, and may the
memory of Adam live forever and.
Ashley, Lance, Desiree, Benford and
Robby Standley
The Paso Digital Film Festival is Dedicated to my
4 kids, 3 grandkids, and our Nation's Youth
Here you can see WHY
I READ THE
NEWS TODAY...OH BOY!!!
New Findings Reinforce the Urgency of Autism as a Major Public Health
Crisis, Requiring Intensified Action from the Public and Private Sectors
NEW YORK, NY (October 5, 2009) Autism Speaks, the nation's largest
autism science and advocacy organization, today responded to a new study
published in
the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics that
found a parent-
reported autism prevalence rate of one in every 91
American children, including
one in 58 boys. The most recent ASD
prevalence estimate reported by Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) in
2007 was approximately one in 150 (including one
in 94 boys), making
autism the most prevalent childhood developmental disorder. Autism
Speaks said the new findings reinforced the fact that autism is an
urgent
and growing public health crisis that affects most individuals
across their lifespan
and demands a commensurate level of action from
both the public and private sectors.
One of every 50 American children experiences homelessness, according to
a new report that says
most states have inadequate plans to address the
worsening and often-overlooked problem.
the best ranking. Texas is at the bottom.
"These kids are the innocent victims, yet it seems somehow
or other they
get left out," said the center's president, Dr. Ellen Bassuk. "Why are
they America's outcasts?"
The report analyzes data from 2005-2006. It estimates that 1.5 million
children experienced home-
lessness at least once that year, and says the
problem is surely worse now because of the foreclosures
and job losses
of the deepening recession.
"If we could freeze-frame it now, it would be bad enough," said
Democratic Sen. Robert Casey of
Pennsylvania, who wrote a
foreword to
the report. "By end of this year, it will be that much worse."
Homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among
youth aged 10–24
years in the United
States.
Violence is also a major cause of nonfatal injuries
among youth.
No state is immune
to the
devastating impact of youth violence.
STATS RUN FROM 1.5 MILLION TO 3 MILLION CHILDREN AND
YOUTH RUNAWAY EACH YEAR IN THE US OF A. AVERAGE
AGE IS 14 1/2 AND 2/3 ARE LITTLE GIRLS...
1.1 million
incarcerated persons are parents to an estimated 2.3 million children.
(U.S. Bureau of Justice stats)
160,000 kids and teens a day stay home from school because of
bullying.
Demi Lovato PSA - National Bullying Prevention Week and
TeensAgainstBullying.org
According to the AFCARS Report (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting
System Report),
there were 513,000 in the foster care system on September 30,
2005 in the United
States. The could possibly be one million now..
In another recent survey in Massachusetts, almost 1 in 5 female
high-school students said they had experienced physical and/or sexual
violence in a dating relationship
It is a Chicago public school full of energy and spirit. It has about
800 girls, and 115 of them have something in common – something you
might find disturbing. THEY
ARE PREGNANT.
According To Coalition For The Homeless,
More Than 16,000 Children Were In Shelters By End Of September
Mary Brosnahan, longtime executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless
used the city's own data, and says homelessness has been
increasing each of the
last five years, and currently is at an all-time high. At the end of September,
10,494 homeless families lived in shelters,
including 16,615 homeless children.
"What does that mean for those children, and their future? That they will spend
a substantial amount of their childhood …
in a homeless shelter?" asked Bill de Blasio, the chairman of the City Council General Welfare Committee.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is widespread in U.S. cities
and constitutes "America's dirty little secret,"
said survivor Theresa Flores during NBC's The Today Show this morning. She will
be featured on the MSNBC special,
"Sex Slaves: The Teen Trade,"
One in every 6 boys will
be sexually molested by 16 years of age, and 93% know their attackers.
