Let’s move our awareness into action. We can do 3 things NOW to help victims of domestic and sexual violence during sheltering-place orders.
The silent virus that is harming our children during the COVID-19 pandemic
Now more than ever we have to wake up to the silent virus that was just given free rein in millions of children’s homes. I worry that among the things that will be most impacted because of this virus, we will see the loss of innocence in thousands of children, and even greater loss of trust in a world that can be safe, and an ability to self-protect. . .
Should we love those who've committed acts we deem heinous and violent?
Survival "Sex" is Sex Trafficking
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. As we move into the Super Bowl where we'll see a slight uptick in sex trafficking, I wanted to start this newsletter off with a story often left out of the discussion.
Imagine that you’ve just been kicked out of your home by your parents. You’ve got some friends, but either they have really unhealthy homes or their parents don’t want your "behavior to negatively influence" their children’s lives. You’re a minor, so homeless shelters are far and few between.
Welcome!
Welcome Truth Seekers!
I’m excited to have this opportunity to share truth! I want to take a moment to share a bit more about me, and what the Truth Letter is all about.
Together with a friend of mine in 2012, I started a ministry which focused on helping other survivors of violence reclaim their truth and identity from the lies they had been told. It came from a deep need to understand the world around me.
After experiencing sexual abuse multiple times in my childhood and intimate partner violence from my teens to my early 20s, you could say I struggled a bit with my identity. Who exactly was I? Was I the burden so many romantic partners told me I was? Was my worth the sum total of what had been done to me? Was I really better off dead?
I came into the world of violence prevention out of a selfish desperation to understand the world around me. Why had I been fed so many lies? Not only about where the hurt in my life would happen, but who would cause that hurt. I had been taught to hide the truth to protect the world, but not taught to protect myself from the very thing that set out to kill me.
I realized that these lies – the lies we’ve rebirthed generation after generation – are poisonous to our wellbeing. We see these lies everywhere. We see them in the media we consume, in the conversations we have with our friends and family and in the history lessons we learn routinely.
If our goal is to truly see the end of violence then we have to get to the root and dig it up. This means getting dirty. It means being uncomfortable for just a bit as we wash off the lies we’ve been bathing in for centuries. It means owning our individual responsibility to see violence ends. When the individual acts, we see a collective change.
I believe we can uncover the lies. I believe together we will see truth shine so bright. I believe we will see the healing of the masses. We will see change.
So, let’s get after it!
With Truth,
Jess
