City of St. Helens Statement Regarding Our Commitment to St. Helens Youth

The St. Helens community has been profoundly affected this week by the arrest of two St. Helens High School teachers on charges of the sexual abuse of students. Our children have the right to learn and grow in a safe environment that is free from abuse. As we work together as a community to support the victims and our students and advocate for meaningful change, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge and validate what our community is feeling right now. What has transpired is unacceptable. We should all be angry. We must do better.

One of our top priorities at the City of St. Helens is ensuring the safety of our community, especially of our children. While the City of St. Helens has no authority over the operations of the school district or its board of elected officials, several of our departments do work directly with the children of our community, and in some cases, in partnership with the St. Helens School District.

Immediately after this week's arrests were announced, City of St. Helens managers began reviewing our own policies and procedures to ensure that the children you entrust with our staff remain safe in our care and supervision. Your children have a right to explore, learn, and grow in an enriching environment. The St. Helens Recreation Program and St. Helens Public Library regularly work with school-aged children in the community. We are committed to ensuring their safety in our care and these are just a few examples of the polices we have in place to ensure that protection:

1. Our Library and Recreation employees are mandatory reporters and are trained in the procedures for reporting abuse.
2. Two staff members are always present when working with children.
3. We background check all our employees.

Additionally, our St. Helens Police Department is committed to investigating reports of sexual abuse. We acknowledge the hard work of our detectives on this case as they continue to investigate incoming reports and ensure that justice is served. We take these reports seriously. These are a few of the ways that you can report concerns of sexual abuse involving children:

1. Directly to the St. Helens Police Department by calling 503-397-1521
2. SafeOregon:
   1. Submit an online tip at https://www.safeoregon.com/report-a-tip/
   2. Call or text 1-844-472-3367
   3. Email [email protected]
3. Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Welfare by calling 1-855-503-7233

The City of St. Helens staff and City Council remain committed to ensuring the health and safety of our community, especially our youth. The St. Helens youth are our future. We encourage everyone to come together as a community to support our youth during this time as we work together to make meaningful change.

Published Friday, November 15, 2024