Stopping the Train (and Car Show) to Learn About an Angel, Noah Cuatro, 4 from Palmdale CA

 Little Noah's loving caregiver  who was his Great-Grandmother Eva Hernandez sadly had to give him back to his parents, Jose and Ursula, the Yahoo News account shared. The tragic story has so many elements of misery and yet young Noah was all of four years old. Still he had begged his grandmother not to send him back to his parents. He had been removed from their custody before ( I won't use the word care..) and 13 calls were made about concerns of abuse.

The "kicker" is that there was a request approved to remove him, but nothing was done immediately and poor Noah was reported by the biological parents (not worthy of the title of mother and father which infer a deep level of love and commitment) as having drowned in a pool. Yet there were signs of trauma to his body...and the parents had not been arrested. With the ties of his name to Noah's Ark of the Biblical story and history, as well as tragically being done in by water, a life-giving source for the most part, I am thinking of this young Noah as a kind of leader and ark of wisdom.

Sadly this angelic hero and martyr for our times,  Noah,4 years old, and  whose last name Cuatro sounds like 'the number four' (which we could consider for the four directions rather than for the connections that sometimes in Chinese numerology are about death... and in his life was couched in a set of four people, two for him (counting himself) and seemingly two against his life force.

Young people do still have a higher risk of drowning in pools so maybe this would be an important aspect for America and other countries to take, 'in case it was an accident', but even moreso since it was likely not. We may want to 'turn away' from such a tragic story, but hopefully we would have thoughtful response teams seeking to remedy many aspects of this kind of loss.

That is what this blog explores in many ways. Why the mainstream media 'doesn't touch these topics' in a more thorough way could be another advocacy concern the public could voice on social media... We collectively need to be willing to Ask Important Questions and Explore Matters Deeply with Our Hearts and Minds. and Asking about feelings, things we don't understand and what could help whether online or with our own reflections and discussions. Then we need to write all that down and share the bejimminies out of it...

There are laws with criteria to be met and followed, but the two thousand comments from the public are worth more people studying to learn not only of the the kinds of negligence and stress that factor into obtaining enough evidence to remove a child who is in danger but also clear ways to keep them safe. I will go on with my day that was hoping to have a reverent celebratory sense of our small towns staying afloat and pulling through hard times. Every town in the US likely 'has stories no one knows' or some that 'plenty know but are 'buried in the past'.

Some of the offenders have died while others have hopefully mended their ways and do not let themselves be in dicey situations where they would harm or kill others. Many 'unsolved cases' come up in the comments of 'children never being seen again' even with other family seeking information.

These kinds of concerns would merit more people opting to have 'supervised living situations' voluntarily. In the cities, people live in apartment buildings or other close quarters. Maybe more people who hare 'on the radar' or victims of abuse who would like support, could have a way to live with more security.

Now there are security cameras so maybe those could be approved  for local use so women, children and other victims, (plenty of men may have a case generally as a victim of another man but possibly of a woman who is unstable or using substances or somehow retaliating or feeling disempowered economically, socially or otherwise.) The basis of much harm is 'someone or more people seeking power and control over others.'

Violating human rights is a growing concern and yet the archaic systems are often still part of the confusion and lack of effective intervention. Most matters are dealt with 'one episode to the next' like a television series, rather than as a controller or violator's mindset and actions that need addressing voluntarily if not legally. The kind of Blanket Coverage we need is in part widespread education about the Modern Guidelines and Expectations as well as the Laws of each state, country and so on.

There may be more 'procedures established and posted' by boards of non-profits or businesses and even in family or other social settings. That can be a way for more people to learn from the grassroots level about ways to handle communication and conflict matters. These kinds of efforts are ways to help everyone get a 'fresh start' and try to do better, ideally with ongoing coaching and outreach on line or with phone support.

Spelling out the basics, having a team of support to make game plans for safety and options for 'next steps' over the course of a few weeks, months and years could help individuals and families, groups and neigborhoods create a new normal. Young children should be able to have access to cell phones to call for help and even 911.

A network of people helping children be safe and families find support is important. A parent being rough with disciplining a child in public can be one way to 'call for an intervention' since the parent is likely in a pattern of feeling frustrated and uncertain of how to ask for help for one or more children to ease a stress load or find parenting or child care strategies that work. The children may merit more guidance from others and possibly a mental health and physical check up from a medical doctor or alternative healing people to help sort through root causes, Sometimes there are developmental concerns or behaviors that need special attention. More routines and clarity about the plan for a day or transitions are often helpful. The family of the late Noah seems 'far beyond help' and ideally there would have been teams of people helping him and his grandmother to have the proper advocates.

Safe and Together Institute with David Mandel promotes safety for women and children, but the idea that mother was an 'equal opportunity abuser' is one that needs addressing as well.

We hopefully could learn more to see what the dynamics were, if she were being forced to comply or somehow more complicit if abuse or intentional harm occurred, which seems the case. Far more rare would be a mother insisting a father harm a child or allow her to do as she sees fit, but that likely happens as well. Unfortunately some of these cases likely are the wake up call our society seems 'to be waiting for' or not willing to address even when more people are revealing they have been abused or were harmed decades ago, whether as a child, adult or elder.

Let's see what kind of progress we could dream of making even if the reality may take a while to implement. With belief in the spiritual realm as one that can inform the mortal one, maybe a medium would have more insight into what Noah suffered 'by accident' or as seems the case intentionally. Some of the other 'unsolved cases' could also be better publicized and again maybe mediums could infer what happened or give the families some peace of mind.

Sadly there is a case reflected in Kaedyn's Korner about a young girl whose biological father ended her life in  early August 2018 in Pennsylvannia. Her family is doing advocacy to prevent having highly unstable or volatile parents have rights to unsupervised visits. There is a lot of advocacy done by CA Protective Parents Association as well.

These are trying times with ever more to consider on behalf of those facing such trauma and those family and friends and indeed communities and wider circles left trying to craft meaningful next steps to prevent other kinds of harm.

Keeping vigilant is challenging but much easier with others joining forces and encouraging one another to 'keep the faith' and honor the legacies of the departed with great love and care for the gift of life and advocacy. Thanks for taking time to consider these concerns when there are many wonderful things beckoning us to enjoy...and we can do that too. All in moderation as many have learned and thought to share...