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Family TIES seeks to break cycle of child abuse
Saturday event sheds light on issue, services provided for parents
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Pinwheels spin in the wind during the “Seeds for the Family” event put on by Family TIES Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Gainesville. Pinwheels were placed in an arc on the front lawn of the First Baptist Church to represent parents surrounding smaller plastic flower decorations that represented children affected by abuse or neglect. - photo by Erin O. Smith
Family TIES in Gainesville hoped to shed light on child abuse prevention Saturday by setting up pinwheels in the front lawn of First Baptist Church in Gainesville and inviting an 11-year-old girl to recite her poem to her incarcerated father. The event, “Seeds for the Family,” was put together by the organization’s board members, volunteers and students of the group’s parenting course. The organization serves 2,000 families annually, according to Executive Director Dee Dee Mize, who also teaches some of the classes herself.