Harrisburg Police provide dolls for hurting children
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA["Which kind of pain is worse? Physical or emotional?"
Harrisburg Police Chief Robert Smith's eyes turned from the student journalist sitting across from him to scan the empty space that lie in between his desk and chairs. An empty space that was present in more than just his office, it was also present in the hearts of Saline County's children.
"Both have their place," Smith said.
"It could be the extent. Physical is usually cured in a short amount of time.
"Emotional could take years."
The Saline County Law Enforcement and Detention Center has just become a part of a nation wide ministry involving children who have fallen victim to crime.
Fifty handmade dolls were delivered to the station last week for the soul purpose of
having them put in police cars. The dolls are to be given to any child who has
become a part of a criminal case.
Smith stated that most of the cases the department gets are domestic and could involve anything from predatory assaults to innocent children standing as witnesses.
"They have no defense," said Smith. "Vulnerability is extreme is these kids. What hurts most is the fact that they can't express what they're seeing or how it bothers them."
The main concern for the department is that children realize that they are safe and that law enforcement if here to help. The dolls help break down a wall that has been built up by drugs, alcohol, and other abusive behaviors. These dolls are an immediate bandage for emotional pain that can take years to heal.
To help the children understand the feeling of individuality, each doll was created in a unique way. Neither doll is the same. They are made by hand and show different races, different hair colors, different clothes. The one thing that doesn't differ is the smile each dolls has sown on its face.
"Especially the kids that get them," Smith said.
The children's smiles are to remain just as permanent as the smiles on the dolls.
The dolls came in at no cost to the department. The no-cost policy has helped the department tremendously. It had never seemed like a possibility for law enforcement to be able to reach out to the community without reaching into the police's finances. "Funding has been an issue," Smith said.
Crime seems to be a problem in the summer yearly for youth. Without supervision,
Smith says a lot of kids find themselves in situations that involve illegal behavior.
With each wave of heat that brings along the freedom of the hours, a new generation
of youth is experiencing something that will stick with them no matter how old.
"It's the younger ones we're especially worried about," Smith said.
In cases like this, no one wins. If the child isn't a witness, they are usually a victim. "Either experience needs an emotional release. These dolls can do that," Smith said.
The department can't express enough gratitude over the distribution of each doll.
"To the children, it's a term of endearment. They know that someone does care," Smith said.
And now the department knows they're not the only ones. The dolls were brought to life through the Women's Missionary Union of the First Baptist Church of Raleigh and several area volunteers. Hundreds of dolls were made not only for use in Saline County, but also for use in foreign missions. A shipment of dolls was sent to the country of Uganda in recent past.
The dolls represent not only love and acceptance, they also represent the knowledge of Christianity. Each doll has a necklace made up of several different primary and secondary colors. The different colors tell the story of Jesus and his resurrection. The dolls were sent to help missions out of the country and to get the story spread to the eyes and ears of foreigners through a form of communication that has no boundary.
"We cannot say 'thank-you' enough," Smith said. "The positive influence has
been so great."
The department hopes the dolls will help young children see that what they're going through is not the end. They will find plenty of comfort in the arms of the officers and in the embrace of their new doll.