BishopAccountability.org
	VOTF Hosts Sale to Help Survivors of Sexual Abuse By Bob Morris rmorrisvotf@aol.com Star [Winchester MA] September 8, 2005 The Winchester Area Voice of the Faithful will host a yard sale to raise funds for survivors of sexual abuse on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 125 Jason St., off Massachusetts Avenue, in Arlington. All of the proceeds will go to support SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and The LINKUP/ Healing Alliance for Survivors of Clergy Sex Abuse. These two national groups are nonprofit organizations that continue to give support to survivors of sexual abuse across the country. Although the Catholic Church crisis of sexual abuse by clergy does not make the news every day, many survivors continue to come forward in attempts to deal with the abuse they suffered and continue to seek healing. The need will be on going as most victims of clergy sexual abuse do not come forward for many years after the abuse takes place. They feel alone and have nowhere to turn. Connecting with others that have been abused is a first step. There are local contacts in almost every state, and many chapters meet monthly. Their national conventions bring people together for support and offer workshops on healing and ways to deal with related problems. The Linkup/ Healing Alliance is Kentucky-based and its founder Sue Archibald helped establish a healing center on a 1,300 acre farm near Louisville, Ky., in April 2004. The farm is a peaceful place where survivors can come for day visits or multi-day visits. It offers workshops for survivors and their families and supporters. Various healing modalities are available for mind, body and spirit, which include many types of therapy and counseling, as well as activities such as hiking , gardening and bicycle riding. The Healing Alliance also reaches out to abuse victims and other concerned parties in meetings and conferences around the U.S. This fall, they will travel to Nicaragua to aid the poor as part of a service organization and in this special humanitarian trip they hope to find spiritual healing through volunteer services. SNAP was founded by Chicago's Barbara Blaine in 1989. She continues her involvement as president of the national group along with David Clohessy, the national executive director. They are both survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and today work full time to help other survivors. Part of SNAP'S mission is to provide a safe and productive outlet for the passion many survivors feel toward preventing future abuse. SNAP'S healing model is that both survivors and the institution that hurt them must be healed - focusing on helping individuals and changing the church that allowed the abuse. They have a three-fold purpose: Self help is the first. They realize by sharing their stories that they are not alone and that they are not guilty for what happened to them. Gradually they become empowered to confront the truth and to find healthy mechanisms for healing. Second is to educate themselves and their communities about the effects of the abuse. And third is prevention. Once they learn the truth about what happened, they can use the power to bring about change. When many voices come together, they become strong so that they can no longer not be heard. There is a local SNAP chapter that meets in Winchester once a month. In addition to the yard sale, several survivor's books will be on sale. The Winchester Voice of the Faithful has provided funds for individuals to attend national conventions and or to visit the farm. Those who attended the national conventions or visited the farm were overwhelmingly encouraged. For information on the national groups or to be put in touch with local contacts, see the Web sites, www.snapnetwork.org and www.thelinkup.org, or contact Marge Bean at 781-648-4646 or margebean@cs.com. Those who would like more information about the yard sale or would like to donate items may also call Bean. The Winchester Area VOTF has been meeting every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Eulalia's Church in Winchester since May 2002. For info on VOTF, contact Bob Morris at rmorrisvotf@aol.com or 781 721-1399