Child abuse and neglect is a very secret world. From time to time I have encountered abuse in action while grocery shopping - some adult screaming at a child or yanking them around. The adults get plenty pssed when I speak up. 
I seriously doubt - and it saddens me - that an abusive parent's behavior will be corrected by gifts of clothes or a ride to somewhere. Parents don't admit to abuse, neither do their children. It's usually a learned behavior, passed down from generation to generation. 
I wish that all schools would have age-appropriate classes on abuse.