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Family Night Out Shows Up for Children

April 13, 2026 | The Paper of Montgomery County |
From left, Gail Friend, Firefly; Karen Branch, Youth Service Bureau; Lisa Long and Karlie Hall, Child Abuse Prevention Council. 
In addition to YSB, Firefly and the Child Abuse Prevention Council,  the Indiana Department of Child Services, Valley Professionals Health Center and Recovery Coalition Inc. also had a presence.

Photos courtesy Andy Chandler

Family Night Out Shows Up for Children

Last week at Pike Place in downtown Crawfordsville the annual Family Night Out took place. This event, held during National Child Abuse Awareness Month, is hosted by Firefly Children and Family Alliance and Youth Service Bureau. 

In addition to creating a fun and festive atmosphere for both local children and parents, according to Gail Friend at Firefly, the goal is to connect families with resources and to raise awareness about child abuse prevention. 

“Safety is a priority and if they need help, they can go to this organization (meaning the ones on hand) and get what they need,” Friend said

According to Lisa Long of the Child Abuse Prevention Council,” I’d like people to know there are a lot of entities. It takes all of us to get the ground covered to prevent child abuse and get awareness out there. To educate the children and parents about how to keep kids safe.”  

This evening’s event was attended by multiple organizations including the Indiana Department of Child Services, Valley Professionals Health Center and Recovery Coalition Inc.