Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2263

Tonight's special guest is Penelope Benis from Bellevue, Washington, a survivor of childhood domestic violence and sexual abuse. She states, “I was born into multi-generational abuse, and survived extreme domestic violence within my family of origin. The abuse was physical, mental, emotional and sexual in nature. I lived in a state of dissociation until June of 2016 when my primary care doctor encouraged me to seek therapy. So I began that process three and a half years ago through intensive cognitive therapy and yoga, which enabled me to finally begin the process of healing by both acknowledging what I remembered (the forbidden truth) as well as pushing the (dissociated) memories from my unconscious mind forward.” Today, Penelope is a wife, mother of three teen-aged sons, commercial real estate business professional, yoga instructor and activist. Of the yoga, she explains, “Yoga, for me, is a hug I give myself every day.” In Seattle, Penelope is involved with Yoga behind bars, which shares yoga and meditation with incarcerated people to promote rehabilitation, personal transformation and a more just society for all. Penelope says that joining the NAASCA group has been tremendously helpful and that she's so appreciative of how everyone has contributed to make NAASCA what it is today. She relates, “I visit the NAASCA Facebook page daily, and it's truly been the support I needed; a safe place to understand…and feel understood. I'm ready to have the world hear my voice, and tremendously thankful for the opportunity to do so.” She's also told us that someday soon she'll want to find a volunteer opportunity with our NAASCA family!