Good Morning Everyone,
Did you know that "1 in 10
children will be sexually abused or molested before or upon their 18th
birthday?" And that is only of the reported cases. Many cases of child
abuse go unreported. That was a statistic uttered by an expert during a
session I attended. As I have mentioned to you previously, I have been
talking with a child advocacy group in Washington, DC that works with
abused children. Many of you know that I am passionate about this cause
because I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. The group I am
communicating with is called Safe Shores. It is a one stop shop that
works with multiple agencies and attorneys while keeping a child safe. I
had the honor of touring their facility less than two weeks ago. I was
taken through the facility as a child would be who is in the middle of a
crisis. They have a clothes closet with anything a child might need.
Often, when a child is abused, especially in an environment where they
reside, they are often removed with only the clothes on their back
depending on the severity of the situation. Then the child is observed
in a room before talking with a counselor who obtains their story. The
room has video cameras and audio so their story can be recorded to keep
from telling it over and over again. It is immediately recorded and
handed over to the attorneys. The child then goes through therapy. Safe
Shores attempts to have the child placed with other safe family members
if at all possible before using the last resort which is foster care.
There is no cost to the parents or caregivers who are bringing the child
for treatment. Even after months of treatment, the director of the
Ambassador program alerted me to the fact that they have often brought
children back in months after their therapy has ended because the
children are showing signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
which I speak about in my new book. The children are still treated free
of charge. How awesome is that? The facility has treated 450 children
this year to date. The director of the Ambassador program also explained
of a very common occurrence. Safe Shores offers a two hour workshop to
parents and adults about how to recognize the signs abuse. She said that
it is far too common that during those sessions, the adults themselves
have episodes of memories where they themselves had been abused and also
multi-generational abuse, where each generation of a family has abuse
the next. Again I talk about all of these types of situations in my new
book. I also speak on how to recognize the signs and what NOT to do. And
just as the director said, how other signs of trauma show up later. If
you have children, grandchildren, work with children, know a survivor of
abuse or just want to be informed, I highly encourage to you to come
out this coming Sunday, November 10th from 4-8pm to join me at Barnes
& Noble at the Avenue at White Marsh. Support a cause to educate
others on awareness. Support a cause of one who knows intimately about
what abuse can do but also how people can overcome and be a survivor not
a victim. I look forward to seeing you!
Baltimore Book
Signing Event
You are invited to attend
a Book Signing for author
Joy T.J. Riley:
Sunday, November 10th at Barnes & Noble (White Marsh)
8123 Honeygo Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21236
4pm-8pm ET
Join Joy for this special event and invite a
friend!
Looking forward to seeing you
there!
Please RSVP by Nov 5th to author, Joy T.J. Riley at getyourjoyinthemorning@gmail.
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