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 because 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 r e c l u s e h e r s e l f . 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 n a n n y w h i c h essentially made Lauren feel unsafe about revealing the details of the abuse .
A f t er e x t e n s i v e 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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