There is so much shame, doubt, and confusion attached to being a survivor. When I was a kid, I never told anyone what happened to me because I was afraid. Would my friends shun me? Would the police believe me? (My abuser said they wouldn’t.) Would my family help me? So, I stayed silent and …
Before my personal experience with abuse, I lived in a household in which my father abused my mother. I do not recall times when I witnessed him hitting her, but our home was filled with fear, anger and disappointment. When my parents finally separated, my mother took my siblings and I to live with my grandmother. …
As the Prevention Director at the Memphis CAC, I see the devastation of abuse on children and their families firsthand. But I also get to see the hope and resilience of the children that come through the CAC. And even better, I get to be a part of the solution – by working to educate …
I’ve been a competitive gymnast for 13 years (since I was just 5 years old!), and my teammates are like my family. Not just the teammates in my age group, either– competitors down to the youngest tumblers make up my tight knit community. That’s why I decided to become an advocate. Gymnastics has been a large …
