MANCHESTER - New Hampshire Catholic Charities' Our Place program will participate in the New Hampshire Children's Trust "Strengthening Families" Summit on March 18 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

Hosted by the N.H. Strengthening Families Leadership Team, the second annual summit will bring together organizations focused on preventing child abuse and neglect throughout the Granite State.

"Our staff was very pleased with the summit last year and were impressed by the people who are working to prevent child abuse," Karen Munsell, an Our Place social worker, said. "We're really looking forward to this year's event and taking another step toward our goal of creating safe environments for children."

Organizers of the Strengthening Families Summit expect to bring together more than 250 child care and early education providers, home visitors and family support workers, elementary school administrators and early childhood professors from across the state.

Last year's summit presented the "Unsung Hero" award to Sharon Riggs, of the Our Place program, for her dedicated work with a young New Hampshire family. This year, Our Place will have an informational booth at the event to educate attendees about programs and services that help to prevent child abuse and neglect.

As part of New Hampshire Catholic Charities' work with NH Children's Trust, the OUR PLACE Program has teamed up with a nationwide effort to educate parents with infants about The Period of PURPLE Crying®, the phrase used to describe the time in a baby's life when they cry more than any other period of development. It is also the span of time most often associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome.

For more information about New Hampshire Catholic Charities or the OUR PLACE Program, visit www.nh-cc.org. To learn more about NH Children's Trust, visit their website at nhchildrenstrust.org.