When I was in the hospital after a sexual assault at the age of 21, there was no advocate there to run interference. There was no one there to explain my rights to me. What I did and did not have to do, to offer counseling or support. I had no idea that there were places that I could go for help. As a result, it was several years before I began the recovery process.
At 27, I now participate in advocacy. Because survivors can do so much good. This experience doesn't have to cripple or kill me, though there were nights when I though it would. I can remember those dark nights of the soul, I felt worthless. There was no phone number that I knew of, that I could call, where someone who understood could talk me back from that terrible ledge. So, I cried alone. Fear and loneliness where the greatest obstacles to my recovery.
Please click this link http://bit.ly/1bWfVo and vote for Guardian Angel of Joliet, and help them to continue their work as advocates for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
copyright 2009 Michelle Cahill
At 27, I now participate in advocacy. Because survivors can do so much good. This experience doesn't have to cripple or kill me, though there were nights when I though it would. I can remember those dark nights of the soul, I felt worthless. There was no phone number that I knew of, that I could call, where someone who understood could talk me back from that terrible ledge. So, I cried alone. Fear and loneliness where the greatest obstacles to my recovery.
Please click this link http://bit.ly/1bWfVo and vote for Guardian Angel of Joliet, and help them to continue their work as advocates for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
copyright 2009 Michelle Cahill
