Lauren confided in her caregiver and accepted everything she was taught as the gospel truth. Even though Lauren’s nanny was committing atrocities against her, she felt a sense of stability and love in her home. She felt like she needed her because her biological mother had been plagued by mental illness and was incapable of loving her the way a mother should. Lauren merely wanted the love, consistency, and stability from a mother. Unfortunately, her home life at times was chaotic be cause of her father’s absence, mother’s illness and sexual abuse at the hands of her nanny. Lauren didn’t have any friends and her nanny isolated her from everyone. Her nanny was a bit of a recluse herself. Lauren’s parents were unaware of what her nanny was doing to her. They often wondered why Lauren didn’t have any friends. Her parents often summoned the nanny to get her to “open up” because they often couldn’t reach her. One evening, the nanny went through a school yearbook, chose a young man for Lauren to date, and demanded that she make salacious advances towards this young man to consummate a friendship. After dating this young man for a relatively short period, Lauren confided in this young man and began revealing the horrific experiences of her home life. Time progressed and the nanny began realizing that Lauren became emotionally attached to her new beau. In a fit of rage, the nanny went to the school and threatened to kill the young man. After the violent confrontation, Lauren’s beau demanded that she tell her father or he would disclose the abuse that had been occurring with the nanny. During this time, Lauren had been seeking the help of a counselor and revealed that she was becoming more reclusive.
Later that evening, the nanny presented her with a ring and asked for her hand in marriage. Lauren simply took the ring and replied that she had to go to counseling. She returned to her therapist and disclosed what had been occurring. The therapist shared the stories of abuse with her father. The nanny was consequently arrested and convicted. Upon the arrest of the nanny, the family’s feelings toward the nanny went from love to bitterness and vitriol. Lauren’s feelings toward the nanny were a mixed bag. She loved her nanny and her caregiver but understood that she also had been a victim. Lauren considered the nanny as her girlfriend. She also understood that her family had negative feelings towards the nanny which essentially made Lauren feel unsafe about revealing the details of the abuse. After extensive counseling, Lauren was able to work through her trauma and realized that sexual abuse victims can overcome their abuse. As a result, she formed the Laurens Kids Foundation to help victims of sexual abuse through counseling and education. The goal of Laurens Kids is “healing” the survivors. Lauren doesn’t consider herself a victim of sexual abuse but rather a thriving and empowered survivor. She believes healing is a lifelong, continuous journey. After going through years of counseling, Lauren was able to graduate from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Creative Writing and a Master’s Degree in Community Psychology with emphasis in social change and nonprofit development. The mission of the Lauren Kids Foundation is to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness and education.
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