Survivor Reflections

“I want to thank you and BARCC for believing in me, talking with me, supporting me, empowering me and referring me.  You really helped me to realize that I am not only amazing but phenomenal.  I can cry, set limits, know boundaries and hold my head up instead of down.”

“Today, I see beauty…Everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul, and sometimes…even in myself.”

“When our daughter was assaulted it was invaluable to have the supportive, comforting, knowledgeable resources of BARCC help not only our daughter but our entire family”

“Although it has been ten years, I still think about that most horrifying experience of my life and I still thank the stars for the day I picked up the phone and you lovely women were on the other end of the line. I came to groups, I talked one-on-one with other women who had been raped. You gave me a place to channel my hurt and frustration and fear in a very positive direction. Words cannot express how grateful I am that you are still there.”

“What I needed most…was a feeling of safety, an atmosphere that was soft, protective, ‘normal.’ I found this at the Center, where I then came in for counseling. No one raised the issue of money….I met regularly with [my counselor], who is outstanding in every way. I could depend on her. Since what I had lost was a belief that I could ‘depend’ on anything or anyone, this was a terribly important factor. The Center’s services to my family…were essential for my own recovery. I cannot easily or fully express what an important, vital, essential role the Center has played in my ability to cope with this awful event in my life. I can only thank you for being there’

“ A hero is an ordinary person who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles…What lies ahead and what lies behind is nothing compared to what lies within…Experience is not what happens to a woman, it’s what a woman does with what happened to her.”

“…To me, rape characterized the unconscionable and something light years away from the scope of rationality, normality despite it’s pervasive presence in the world ……  After the fact, however, I suddenly felt imprisoned by my rape and everyone of its physical and emotional complexities.  The abruptness of that word even-the way it falls out of your mouth drops to the floor-that same sharp poignancy paralleled my life.  I felt blindsided by the inundation of the challenges my assault brought, and it wasn’t fair.”

Click here to download BARCC’s handbook for survivors and their families