March's Newsletter Theme:
"SPRING is in the Air"
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New! Now There Are TWO Articles! Look Inside!
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Meet This Month's NAASCA Volunteer!
Be a Breath of SPRING to Others!
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a non profit 501(c)3
Because of you and our simple MISSION, more
kids are being protected, more adult survivors served!
NAASCA has a single purpose, to address issues related to childhood abuse and trauma including sexual assault, violent or physical abuse, emotional traumas and neglect .. and we do so from two specific perspectives
:
- educating the public, especially as related to getting society over the taboo of discussing childhood sexual abuse, presenting the facts that show child abuse to be a pandemic, worldwide problem that affects everyone
- offering hope for healing through numerous paths, providing many services to adult survivors of child abuse and information for anyone interested in the many issues involving prevention, intervention and recovery
Building a survivor / activist / professional community ... because
together we can do what we cannot do alone
.
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Welcome to the March 2020 NAASCA Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter mailing list!
Please encourage others to get in touch by suggesting they
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This month's newsletter theme is:
"SPRING is in the Air"
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Upcoming March Dates
Women's History Month
National Ethics Month
Social Workers Month
March 3: I Want You to Be Happy Day
March 5: Multiple Personality Day
March 6: World Day of Prayer
March 8: Daylight Savings Time Begins
March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
March 15: Incredible Kid Day
March 16: Freedom of Information Day
March 17: St. Patrick's Day
March 20: International Earth Day
March 20: First Day of Spring
March 21: National Teenager Day
March 30: I Am in Control Day
~~~~~~~~~
A NOTE FROM BILL
Exciting news !!! NAASCA is going Spanish !!!
We've launched our first Spanish pages on the NAASCA web site.
To get there simply enter the word 'espanol' after the regular URL .. like this:
The CONTACT page identifies the volunteers who are helping get the Spanish portion of the NAASCA effort up and running.
You're familiar with the English site's tools, services, and resources, and we'll be duplicating many of them in Spanish.
If you encounter other bi-lingual or Spanish folks send them to our two new 'NAASCA en Español' Facebook groups, one
PUBLICO
, the other
CERRADO
.
Please share this info to our Latino NAASCA family members!
And remember, we now do THREE 'special guest' episodes each week .. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
We'll need additional guests to tell their stories in February .. so there are now several slots open that we want to fill in! Please send me an email if you'd like to participate:
Bmurray3rd@aol.com
The 'Current Schedule' on the front page of our
NAASCA.org
web site accurately reflects the OPEN dates (clearly marked in GRAY).
Here's looking ahead for a wonderful New Year in 2020!!
In gratitude to each of you, I am .. yours in service,
Bill
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Dedicate your birthday to supporting NAASCA
by Bill Murray
Recently, and all of a sudden, it was that time again .. my BIRTHDAY !!! .. (March 26, 1953)
It seems like this happens every year! LOL
There are numerous ways to support our truly unique organization.
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Or, if you prefer, join our
LinkedIn
group!
We're building a survivor / activist community!
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NAASCA's SCAN Shows are Now on Three Platforms!
All our "Stop Child Abuse Now" talk radio shows are now available as 'on-demand' podcasts on three different platforms!
by Bill Murray
It's amazing, but NAASCA and our 'sister effort' LACP (Los Angeles Community Policing) have produced over 3000 "Stop Child Abuse Now" and "Community Matters This Week" talk radio shows!
We do our shows on BlogTalkRadio five-nights-a-week, all but Saturday and Sunday evenings, and each is recorded as it's being aired. It doesn't take long for the library to add up.
Now there are three ways to access these podcasts:
1. Directly through our
NAASCA web site
's 'ARCHIVES' by simply clicking on the episode's name (a number)
2. By using
APPLE Podcasts
for iPhone-style mobile devices – thanks to Dwight Hurych, North Carolina, for setting this up as a NAASCA volunteer!
3. Through
GOOGLE Podcasts
for those who use Android phones – thanks to Charm Isom-Asenime for explaining how to hear our shows on the GOOGLE Podcast platform, too,
NAASCA's 'ARCHIVES' are accessed through the NAASCA website's HOME page where it says 'current schedule'. Each year is listed there.
Please see full details, including how to download the Apple and Google Podcast apps, on the NAASCA website page:
I am so pleased that NAASCA has increased its outreach through these two additional venues!
Please help us SHARE about these new platforms by spreading the word to as many survivors and advocates you can.
We hope this enhances our ability to execute our mission: educating the public about childhood abuse, and offering hope and healing to survivors.
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Spring into Action
Spring is in the air. That means flowers are ready to bloom. It is time for new life to form. So, for us survivors, it is time to spring into action.
So often we put others ahead of ourselves. We want to feel loved and needed. Some of us feel that fills the void left by years of abuse.
This spring, we need to spring into action of self-care. Of course, we can care for our loved ones. Take care of the kids. Help our spouses. Care for our friends. However, we must create an action list of self-care and begin to form new habits.
So, this Spring, lets Spring into Action. Let’s start by creating an action item list. Here is a good example of what your list may look like:
1. Spend 5 minutes with my own thoughts
2. Take a walk around the block by myself
3. Pamper myself with meditation
4. Read a chapter a night of a book just for fun
5. Binge watch a new thoughtless series on Netflix
6. Get to the gym three times a week for a month
7. Get to the spa for a massage or facial or other pampering options
8. Start a journal to get out my thoughts
9. Get into therapy
10. Treat myself to something I have always wanted to do
The goal is to start small and form new habits that are about you. As you begin to enjoy the small steps to self-care, up your game. By the time you get to number 10 on your action list, you are a pro at self-care.
Remember, the more you take care of yourself, the more you can truly love and care for others.
So this spring, start a new habit of self-care and spring into action. And if you need some help, your friends at NAASCA are here to help!
Deb Ferguson, NAASCA volunteer
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Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Classroom Teacher
Students without an ACE score are better suited to the classroom. Their brains are neither on fire, or hyperaroused, nor switched off, or hypoaroused. Unfortunately, 51% of children who have had four or more adverse childhood experiences will also demonstrate learning or behavioral challenges in the school environment
[1]
as compared to only three percent of students without an ACE score. For instance, children with higher ACE scores are more than twice as likely than other students to: be held back in school, struggle with expressive or receptive language, utilize special education services, or be suspended or expelled from school.
Children growing up in unstable, traumatic homes aren’t afforded the safe boundaries provided to other children. They learn instead that adults are unreliable and the world is unsafe. Unable to express these internalized thoughts, children may demonstrate them in socially unacceptable ways that help them maintain some sort of control. In addition, children who are experiencing abuse outside the home will often exhibit many of the same tell-tale signs of abuse.
Common signs students may present with are listed below according to age group:
Elementary Students
Anxiety
Depression
Fear of going home or being around specific people
Talking about or drawing pictures of adult themed sexual acts
Changes in behavior (i.e. withdrawn, clingy, moody, aggression)
Changes in academic performance
Disinterested in activities
Absenteeism
Psychosomatic complaints (i.e. headaches, stomachaches)
Difficulty concentrating
Hyperarousal or hypoarousal (school bells, people touching a shoulder)
Emotional blunting
Inability to stop thinking about event
Middle School/High School Students
Same as above
Substance abuse
Promiscuity
Risk-taking behaviors
Inability to stop thinking about event
Children who exhibit these traits are at high-risk for having been abused. Not only that, but teachers are mandatory reporters. Educators who suspect abuse are legally bound to report it in order to protect the children they serve. Typically, the authorities at the local child abuse services center will record the name of the person reporting the information and provide that individual with a reference number. However, the reporting individual’s name is never shared with the child or his or her family.
The child may never have another adverse childhood experience because you, dear teacher, chose to do the hard thing.
[1]
Burke, N.J., Hellman, J.L., Scott, B.G., Weems, C.F & Carrion, V.C. (June 2011). “The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on an Urban Pediatric Population,” Child Abuse and Neglect, 35, No. 6
.
Tammy Kennington, NAASCA Volunteer
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Sharyn Higdon Jones
'Volunteer of the Month'
for March, 2020
_________________________________________
NAASCA’s Newsletter Interview with
Sharyn Higdon Jones, NAASCA Co-Host on the Third Tuesday of each month, Licensed Psychotherapist, Author & Survivor
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NAASCA:
I understand you are a licensed psychotherapist in California specializing in sexual abuse. What made you decide to focus on sexual abuse?
Sharyn:
I certainly did not have the intention of working with sexual abuse. I thought I was going to work with elementary school children and their parents focusing on learning disabilities and behavioral problems. My life took a rapid U-turn when I was sitting in a graduate school classroom listening to a panel of presenters talking about an innovative new program working with all aspects of sexual abuse – children, adolescents, parents, perpetrators, and adults molested as children.
Almost unwittingly, I found myself glued to my chair and then staying after class to talk with the panelists. I was stunned by what I was hearing. I wound up working with this program for several years receiving invaluable training, but just as importantly, I had the opportunity to work deeply on my own abuse. I had been through therapy, but this experience mirrored back to me all the issues I had not worked on previously. It was an intense and valuable period of time. I have continued now for over 35 years to have a private practice specializing in working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse and trauma.
NAASCA:
Being a survivor, has it been difficult to work with sexual abuse?
Sharyn:
Initially, I didn’t know whether it would be an asset or a barrier to have experienced sexual abuse. It’s important that a client’s therapy be free of any ‘contamination’ by the therapists past experiences or point of view. I think in the case of sexual abuse, my experiences have been an asset. I ‘get it’. I understand how deep the abuse wound is, I understand how it can permeate other relationships, I understand the power of the belief systems that stem from the abuse. But, what I didn’t know as I entered into each therapeutic relationship, is what my clients experience was – what
their
belief systems were – what challenges
they
were facing.
There are certain issues we all face, but there are unique differences as well. Each abuse and its effects are as individual as thumbprints – there are similarities, but each has its own story to tell. Healing is important to all of us and it’s of critical importance to any of us in the sacred position of assisting someone else in a therapy situation that we do our own work. And it’s important that our work be on-going. All of us who have been abused in some way, know that the healing process is continuous – it’s not a one-time event. We can be triggered at any time by something that is said, something we read, and in the case of my work, by something that occurs in my office or in one of my workshops.
NAASCA:
What was the most important lesson you learned in working with survivors for over 35 years?
Sharyn:
I learned that the most important tool for healing from any kind of abuse is the companionship and support of others. Obviously, I see the importance of psychotherapy and hopefully you do have the support of your therapist, but there is something extremely powerful in sharing your journey with others who have gone down a similar path. That was such an important component in my early training that I incorporated that premise in my therapeutic work.
I created a workshop series for women called Healing Steps which was for survivors who were willing to commit to seven all-day workshops spaced a month apart. Each one focused on one aspect of the abuse wound and, yes, the therapy groups were from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. A long day. What happened with the women who bonded together, supported one another, learned from one another, cried with one another, was quite amazing. I learned about the strength, respect and caring one survivor can have for another. I attempted to capture the magic of those workshops in my book,
Healing Steps
. I believe that same respect and encouragement is reflected in the work that NAASCA does with its podcasts, its website and its newsletters.
NAASCA:
How did you hear about NAASCA?
Sharyn:
I believe that resources and support are the most important tools for healing the sexual abuse wound. It’s so important for a survivor – for us - to know we are not alone. It’s important to know there is hope, it’s important to know the truth about abuse of all kinds, it’s important to have access to support when we need it. And NAASCA provides all of this at no cost and you don’t even have to leave home. Pretty amazing.
I was familiar with NAASCA and often referred my clients to the website so when Bill Murray contacted me and asked me to be a guest on the podcast, I was honored to do so. Let me be honest here. I thought he asked me because I had just released my book,
Healing Steps: A Gentle Path to Recovery for Survivors of Childhood
Sexual Abuse
. I was very comfortable talking about my work, and since I have now retired from my private practice, I welcomed discussing the importance of healing and self-help strategies that I found to be helpful to survivors.
But that’s not what I was asked to share on that initial podcast. I was asked to share my own story of abuse, my history, my challenges. In other words, I was asked to do what I believe is the
most important
step of healing which is to break the silence. In breaking the silence, we break that bond with the perpetrator – the bond of secrecy which is so powerful. Each time we tell our story, we let another survivor know he or she is no longer alone. Each time we educate a family member or friend of a survivor, we join a family of courageous warriors. Each time we share our journey with others, we encourage them to either begin or continue their own journey.
NAASCA:
What do you see as important for survivors to know going forward?
Sharyn:
That first podcast was such a reminder to me of how we each need to share our experience, our struggles, and our hope – that’s where the strength is for all of us. We need to educate others and remove the stigma of talking about abuse. It is an uncomfortable conversation but, hey, as survivors we know how to handle discomfort, right? We are the experts – we are the ones who can put the heart and meaning into the conversations about prevention, the long-term effects of abuse, the irretrievable damage in relationships because of continuing abuse. We are also the ones who can encourage and support healing in other survivors. We know what occurs when healing does not take place and we also know the freedom and empowerment that does ensue when we do our therapeutic work.
Recently I read an article in the New York Times about a state legislator who, in working to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of abuse, was overcome with emotion as she spoke with her colleagues. I sent her a copy of my book along with a letter of gratitude and support. I was surprised to receive a call from her saying although she had been in therapy for a number of years, she had not attended to some aspects of her deeply buried pain discussed in
Healing Steps
and she thanked me for reaching out. Survivors supporting survivors. That’s why I feel hopeful. I am encouraged that no matter how horrific the news stories that seem to permeate our airwaves and social media, there are people stepping forth and turning over the rocks of secrecy. Perpetrators are exposed, survivors are stepping up and publicly telling their stories. There is strength in numbers.
There are now resources such as NAASCA which are available to everyone. There is no longer a reason to not begin a healing process. You do not need money, transportation, references, etc. What you do need is willingness, courage, and the acceptance of the fact that you are worth every moment you spend in healing the past to move forward toward a more rewarding future. The ‘how’ to move forward is discussed on the NAASCA website (and in my book,
Healing Steps
) but the ‘when’ is up to you.
NAASCA:
In Conclusion, do you have anything else you’d like to say?
Sharyn:
Yes, I do. Today I am sadly in touch with a sexually abused client’s family as she lies dying from cancer. She has a cancer which emanated from HPV – the human papillomavirus – which she believes infected her when she was sexually abused. She had never been told about HPV nor tested for HPV and was stunned to discover how many women are never told about the virus. Her hope was to complete her chemo and be able to speak to abused women about taking care of their physical selves as well as their psychological selves. In visiting her a few days ago, she said her regret was not being able to be a voice in the sexual abuse community. I told her I would do that as much as possible – for her. Probably by the time you read this, she will have passed on but let’s not let her message die with her. Please take care of your physical selves and please ask your doctor about HPV. Thank you.
NAASCA:
Thank you, Sharyn, for sharing your story with us and thank you for the important volunteer work you do with NAASCA and others.
~~~~~
NAASCA’s "Stop Child Abuse Now" (SCAN) shows are broadcast live 5 nights a week, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8pm EST (so 5pm PST) for 90 minutes, at this link:
www.BlogTalkRadio.com/NAASCA
The dedicated call-in number is: 646-595-2118
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NAASCA's Grateful to All Our Members & Volunteers !
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We Need YOU!
We Need Each Other!
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Fighting For Kids,
Serving Adult Survivors
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Did you know that NAASCA is
entirely staffed by non-paid volunteers
including the Board of Directors?
All the services, programs, tools, resources, and social media efforts that we offer entirely
FREE
to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world are staffed by volunteers from our NAASCA family!
It literally would not be possible without
YOU
.
There are many ways you can volunteer with NAASCA. If you have a little time or a lot, your help is greatly appreciated and needed. Check out our list of available positions here:
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A gift to NAASCA, created for us by Terri Lanahan of Butte, Montana, author of "
Hear My Voice
".
This is a tool anyone can download and use as a help whenever making a presentation on child abuse and trauma. It's a set of some two dozen PowerPoint slides that one can show on a laptop, send in an email, or can project on a screen for a larger group. Activist members of the NAASCA family might want to use it to explain any number of aspects of child abuse and trauma recovery.
Terri's wonderful PowerPoint presentation is located on NAASCA web site's '
Promotional Tools
' page and in our social media groups.
Show off NAASCA -- our mission, services and tools !
REMEMBER .. On the NAASCA web page you'll find links to
how to get
even more great help
when making presentations or during fundraising:
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Have You Listened to Our Talk Radio Show Lately ?
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Monday through Friday evenings we broadcast an internet-based live streaming talk show. This is one of the best
FREE
SERVICES we offer to our NAASCA members!
All shows start at
8pm EST
(so that's
7pm CEN
,
6pm MTN
&
5pm PAC
)
We really want to hear from you!
Anyone can participate or just listen to the show by calling:
(646) 595-2118
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Are You a Survivor of Child Abuse Looking for Support?
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In need of support in your local community?
NAASCA provides listings for your local area in our
Recovery Groups and Services
page.
We have gathered ALL the English speaking recovery groups and services we can find,
not only in
North America but from around the world. This list can connect you with numerous agencies, therapy, support groups and other resources in your local area.
Looking for support after hours or from home?
Can't find a group you can get to easily or want to connect when it is after business hours? Needing a way to talk about your story but want to stay anonymous? We also provide a link to another separate listing for
Online Groups and Services
, for Internet-based recovery groups.
As you can imagine, keeping this listing current and updated is a huge task. You can help other survivors find the support they need.
Submit updates for the '
Recovery Groups List
' to Carolin O'Hara:
Submit any updates for the '
Online Resource List
' to Valerie:
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You are not alone, and never have to be, a day at a time!
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All members of NAASCA are part of our 'NAASCA family', and that's not just something we say. We care about each other and that includes YOU.
We want you to feel comfortable reaching out to any of our volunteers, with any of your questions about what NAASCA offers, or for help navigating the website.
Even if you simply want someone to talk to when you are dealing with a difficult moment in your recovery as a survivor... we are here for you.
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Some are listed as night owls, some as available 24/7, others are part of our International community, still others are young or helping some specific types of survivors. Try it!
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A Note from Our Founder and CEO:
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Healing from child abuse and trauma can be a very lonely journey .. but you'll never be alone again, a day at a time, if you don't want to be !!
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NAASCA belongs to no other group and receives no outside funding. We're self-supporting through our own members' voluntary contributions.
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Please consider a one time
or recurring donation
.
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Thanking you for all you do in the fight against child abuse and trauma and welcoming you to engage with your NAASCA family, I remain, as always,
Yours in service,
Bill Murray
, Founder and CEO
National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse.
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