sey — Humans have explored some far deep secrets of the universe. One not so hidden, however, peeks at its knowledge from inside its very own house – that of child abuse. Many caring souls have committed to bringing life back to victims of childhood sexual abuse. Safe Girls Strong Girls is one such non-profit organization which works to help victims of childhood sexual abuse recover from the haunting web of their childhood trauma. As noted on its website, the organization aims at "giving girls their voices back". Here, the organization’s founder Amy Barth tells about its work as they work on their special Camp CADI program in 2012.Ernest: Hello Amy and thank you for taking time for this correspondence! Please tell us briefly about the history of Camp CADI.
Amy: Thank-you Ernest. Safe Girls Strong Girls was founded on October 27, 2005. Camp CADI is our main program. In March 2005, I had an epiphany while having dinner with a friend at Spaghetti Warehouse. I stated to her that I was going to start a program for girls who had been traumatized by childhood sexual abuse to help them heal through the use of the creative arts. I too was traumatized and did not heal until I was an adult and I did not want girls to have to wait that long; I wanted them to heal when they were young so they did the face the myriad of problems that adults do. CADI is a combination of letters that are important to me. I wanted to use a girl’s name that meant joy, fun, or happiness. I searched baby name lists for names that had those letters. The “C” is for a good friend of mine who was supportive of my healing. The “A” is for Amy and the “DI” is for my wise woman. CADI means “Simple Happiness” in Gaelic.
Ernest: So Camp CADI is only for girls who have been victimized by sexual abuse in childhood. Let me ask why girls?
Amy: Initially, we started out as an organization for girls because girls disclose more often. However, in the very near future, we will be adding Camp Casey for boys. Casey means “courageous” in Gaelic and we will also be adding Camp Amy for women. I prefer the word “traumatized” to “victimized”.
Ernest: And what are the areas where you work? And does it include online work?
Amy: We would like to take all our camps around the U.S., provided we get enough funding. We do not offer help online but we do help anyone that calls or email to find appropriate resources. Girls are flown in to attend camp every year from around the country.
Ernest: What kind of work CADI does for helping the girls?
Amy: We provide therapeutic activities such as music therapy, art therapy, play therapy, drama therapy, journaling etc. The most important things that we provide for the girls that come to camp is a sense of belonging with other young survivors who understand and a chance to just “be girls again” to play and have fun. We teach them that what happened to them does not define who they are, that they do not have to be ashamed, they don’t have to feel guilty, and that they have unlimited potential and that they can grow up and do anything they want. At camp, we wrap them in a cocoon of safety and when they are ready they will fly away as strong and beautiful butterflies. We offer them a safety net for life; once they outgrow camp, they still come to us if they need help. They are part of the CADI family.
Ernest: Do you identify the sexual abuse victims and reach out to them? Or do you have some sources that direct the abused girls to you for help?
Amy: Once again, our preferred verbiage is girls who were traumatized by childhood sexual abuse. We work with several child advocacy centers that identify girls needing our services. However, the majority of the girls come as self-referrals as if their parents have found us when searching the internet for help.
Ernest: Who are some of the important people working at your organization?
Amy: We have an advisory board that includes psychologists and therapists. Our clinical director has 41 years of experience in the field of childhood sexual abuse.
Ernest: Do you believe that our media is doing enough to create awareness about childhood sexual abuse?
Amy: I do not believe the media is doing enough to bring awareness to this topic. Frankly, sexual abuse is not a feel good topic and our society still will not talk about this openly, which is one of the reasons that those traumatized feel so ashamed. The media sensationalizes cases like Jerry Sandusky and pedophile priests; however, they don’t portray the impact sexual abuse has on those traumatized. The statistics are very sad. 1 in every 3 girls and 1 in every 5 boys is sexually abused before their 18th birthday. 75% of people with substance abuse issues were sexually abused; 52% of women who are incarcerated were sexually abused. 85% of women who develop and eating disorder were sexually abused; 90% of girls who are prostituted were sexually abused; those who were sexually abused are 4 times more likely to commit suicide. The list goes on and on. Sexual abuse is at the root of many problems. We must make it OK to talk about it.
Ernest: And all the help you offer the girls comes free to them, right?
Amy: 98% of our girls receive camperships to come to camp. We do ask that if a family can pay something that they do but it is very rare that we have a family who can pay. We do think it is important for them to pay something so they feel invested in the experience as well. However, most campers pay no fee at all. It costs about $1,000 for each girl to attend camp. We are solely a volunteer organization and all of our therapists donate their time. However, we have many other expenses such as site rental, food, insurance, bus rentals, cost of special programs, welcome packages for the girls, birthday presents (we give an annual birthday party because we found out years ago that many of our girls never had a party, cake, or presents). I believe that sexual abuse is like “cancer of the soul”, so we try to give our girls a very fun week and a chance to be girls again. Camp CADI saves lives!!!
Ernest: At this moment, are also seeking donations for keep working in 2012?
Amy: We are also about to start shooting a documentary called THRIVE that we hope will bring awareness about sexual abuse and offer those affected the hope that they too can heal and ultimately Thrive. We will need to raise $25,000 in seed money for this project.
Ernest: By what methods can interested readers donate to your cause?
Amy: They are welcome to visit our website at www.safegirlsstronggirls.org and folks can donate there. We are also looking for donations such as: gift cards to grocery stores such as Kroeger, Publix, Ingles, and walmart. Gift cards to target. We are looking for a donation of a 16-passenger van rental for the week, 6 guitars so that we can offer guitar lessons, 35 copies of the book “All the places you’ll go” by Dr. Seuss, 35 new medium stuffed animals, preferably butterflies, a sponsor to pay for our camp t-shirts, a sponsor to pay for horseback riding ($1,000), a volunteer chef, a sponsor to pay for 5 dozen butterflies to release at our closing ceremonies, artisans to come to camp and provide art workshops, a group to make welcome packages for the girls, art supplies. If people are interested in donating items or services, please contact us through our website.
Ernest: Thank you Amy for sharing with us this important cause.