On December 29, 2021, six-year-old Damari Perry of North Chicago was forced by a relative to stand in a cold shower as a punishment, for an extended period, when he began to vomit. Though he became unresponsive, and his condition critical, no one called 911, and Damari died.

Days later, Damari’s mother reported the boy had gone missing from a party he attended with his sister in Skokie, but the story was proven false. On January 5^th, Damari’s small body was discovered by police in an abandoned house in Gary, Indiana.

The tragic death of Damari is hauntingly reminiscent of five-year-old AJ Freund’s death on April 24, 2019, in Crystal Lake. Both boys had died at the hands of family members. Both boys had been tortured in ice-cold water. Both boys were initially reported missing before their hidden bodies were found.

Though these stories are heinous, they resonate too frequently with authorities. According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children (SPCC), five children in the U.S. die every day from abuse. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) reported that in 2020, 102 children died in Illinois alone from abuse or neglect. However, it’s estimated that 60% of cases are never reported, raising the number to 163.

Could these deaths have been prevented? The lives of countless children have been saved by Shelter working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our Healthy Families is an abuse prevention program working with families with multiple challenges and helping them create safe, nurturing environments for their babies. In their 26-year history, only one child in the Healthy Families program has ever been removed from their home due to allegations of abuse. Had AJ and Damari’s families been in the program, the boys may have been alive today.

Learn more about Healthy Families and how your support can make a difference because the death of one child is one too many.