Project Anchor- adolescent victims of sexual abuse

This summer season has been busy, yet beneficial!  

January 1st, 2022, to date, 28% of our crisis calls have been for survivors 18 years and younger andwe have proudly been able to serve 62 clients who are under the age of 18.Those services include responding to local hospitals to provide support during a forensic exam, individual counseling sessions, and child judicial advocacy. Working with traumatized youth is emotionally difficult for advocates, but we are honored to be able to provide support during their times of need.You are a part of that support. Your support helps preserve dignity for teen survivors by supplying Response Bag kits. Clothes are kept for evidence collection and once discharged, the bags provide a set of new clothes, toiletries, and warm blanket. This is just another example of the wonderful things we can do with your support! 

The increase in adolescent client services has also grown our support group this year. We have been working hard to provide our teen clients with new experiences as well as giving them the education that they need. Many of our teens have been in the group for quite a while and we knew it was time for a new opportunity. With your help, we have been able to send our teens on a field trip to a therapeutic horse-riding center!  

This field trip was a wonderful experience and opportunity for members to explore different forms of therapy and another outlet for their emotions.Group members were able to ride and groom the therapy horses. A fewnew teen clients attended and were able to meet some of the girls in our group. They were comfortable making the choice of joining the support group. Some of the teens were able to make great connections with the horses as well! 

Horse-back riding was not the point of this trip, resiliency was the object lesson. One of the teens was unsure of getting on a horse but after some encouragement, she overcame her fear and climbed on. She did not let her fear stop her from this experience. The client enjoyed it so much that she did not want to get off! After sexual assault, fear can stop survivors from participating in life. This experience was a WIN in overcoming fear.  

It is such a privilege to be able to see these girls shine. We would love to continue to take our support group on trips. These opportunities really give them a chance to discover new interests and connect with other survivors. This is another way to recognize and celebrate the investment these survivors make in their recovery journey.  

The new school year has begun. We have some new activities in store for the new cohort and we cannot wait to share them with you! Your support truly does make an impact.