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Dan’s Truth
I am here today to talk about the sexual abuse of little boys, through my own story. I grew up in a modest, blue collar home, in inner-city Pittsburgh. It was a very tough neighborhood; tough kids, lots of fighting. A very “macho” environment. Football was an integral part of the social fabric of that community. I played four years of college football – I was a middle linebacker – the tough guy. This was all a mask to protect myself. To the outside world, I was a “normal” guy, but, I held a terrible secret. I was abused for two years from the age of 11 to 13. The…
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I Remember
I Remember… I remember, as a child, Hiding in the dark closet with my sisters and brothers, Unable to block out the sounds of my father beating my mother. We would cry and pray together, asking God to make it stop. It never did….. It never did….. Now, 28 years later, when I talk about it, I still feel that helplessness and fear. I see the house, the closet. I feel huddled up with six kids in the closet… Crying quietly. My Mom screams… My father yells… The crashing sounds… Deep terror… Feeling it was our fault somehow. We all paid for it in our adult lives. Not one of…
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Teens Speak Art Competition
Teen’s speak art competition offers large prizes and important message Teen dating violence can sometimes be invisible to those of us who haven’t been teens in a while. Unfortunately, it isn’t invisible to teens: One in 10 high school students report being purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Many teens do not tell anyone about the abuse, but if they do tell someone, they are far more likely to tell a friend than a teacher, parent, counselor or other caring adult. Nearly 60% of teens know someone who has experienced some form of abuse in a dating relationship and 1 in 3 report knowing someone…
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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Every April we are busy planning our annual event “Soup for the Souls”. (Actually, the planning begins in January) It is a great event, lots of people laughing and having fun, lots of good homemade soup and bread and exciting bidding during the cake walk for home baked cakes. We bring people together in April because it is the month to remember those who have suffered from the trauma of sexual assault. Some may wonder why we have such a fun get together during such a solemn month. Shouldn’t we be sad and have quiet respect for the ones that have been affected? I don’t believe so. I don’t believe…
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Community Engagement
Over the years we have worked very hard to engage social service agencies, organizations, and community members as partners, donors and volunteers. We have a tremendous base of support in our community and we would be lost without the volunteers who help us with events, errands and other projects. We are incredibly grateful for these partners in our community and we literally would not be here if not for the support they give us on a regular basis. We have been less successful at engaging the community in the work that we do. That is not surprising. The work is hard and a significant amount of training and experience is…
