Colleen

Rape Survivor, Cleveland

Colleen has a strong voice, and she isn’t afraid to use it.  But this was not always the case for this survivor of childhood abuse and rape.

“I used to be afraid of everything—leaving my home, men, change. I lived in a boxed-in world,” Colleen shares. “Cleveland Rape Crisis Center helped me to find my voice. They helped give me my independence back.”

For years, Colleen struggled with overpowering memories of childhood incest and abuse.  As a result, she found herself in a pattern of unhealthy, often abusive, relationships and with a feeling of helplessness. “I didn’t think I deserved a healthy relationship. I didn’t even know what that was,” she recalls.

As an adult, Colleen was raped again by an abusive boyfriend. “I just felt like I was broken. I tried for years to find a therapist, a psychologist, someone who could help me through this and I couldn’t find anyone that helped me. I would come home from work and stay in my house, listening to music and crying. I felt alone,” Colleen painfully remembers.

Finally, a doctor recommended Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.  Like many survivors, she was unaware that CRCC provides services to all.  “I didn’t think it was for me. I thought it was for women who had been raped by strangers, or for women who couldn’t afford therapy. I didn’t realize it was for everyone.”

Once Colleen made the call to the center, she began counseling sessions that helped her confront and deal with the years of abuse she had endured at the hands of those she trusted. “CRCC helped me realize that it wasn’t my fault, that I was just a child, and that the ‘love’ I had received as a child wasn’t healthy,” Colleen explains. Through counseling, she was also able to write letters to family members who had harmed her. Her sessions also empowered Colleen to seek out healthier relationships and finally eliminate the toxic relationships that had dominated her life for so long.

Colleen completed counseling several years ago and is now a passionate advocate for the center. “People ask me why I share my story. I feel like I have to. There are so many people like me, and Cleveland Rape Crisis Center understands that. They understand people like me. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. They saved my life,” Colleen says. She would also like to volunteer for the center. “I want to give back to the center. They gave my voice back. They gave me my independence back, and I am so grateful. I can’t thank them enough.”