Racine & Me: BeLEAF Survivors Inc.

 

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- BeLEAF Survivors seeks to provide a safe and compassionate environment to promote hope and healing after sexual assault by lifting, empowering, advocating, and fighting for survivors and their allies and, therefore the community as a whole.

What is BeLEAF Survivors? We are a Racine-based nonprofit that provides hope and
healing after sexual assault. The L E A F in our name represents our services.

L= Lifting: picking people up when they are at their lowest point.

 24/7 Helpline for survivors needing assistance
 24/7 hospital response to support survivors during SANE exams after sexual assault

E= Empower: giving people back their voice and power
 Therapy and support groups for survivors and their support people
 Alternative healing events like art therapy, wholistic wellness, writing workshops

A= Advocacy: knocking down any barriers in the way in a survivor’s healing journey
 Help navigating the police and legal systems
 Guidance and referrals for families at whose children have been sexually abused
 Emergency assistance for survivors’ basic needs

F= Fighting: educating the community to create a culture of consent
 Outreach at public events
 Presentations to professional and civic groups
 Child abuse/ sexual violence prevention lessons

All of these are available in English or Spanish and are completely free.

Why is it important to have a place like BeLEAF?
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

 Could be a women or man
 Could be an adult or child
 Could be you, your family, your friend

Even though it’s not the survivor’s fault they tend to keep it a secret because of
embarrassment, shame, guilt, and fear. If it’s a secret, they don’t get the help they need to heal
from the trauma which can take a toll on their mental and physical health and their ability to be
the best version of themself for those around them.
Survivors deserve a place to heal from their trauma and they shouldn’t have to pay one dime to
heal from what happened to them. This can happen at places like BeLEAF.

How can people help?

Time: BeLEAF is always looking for local volunteers to answer the survivor Helpline and to
support survivors during hospital exams after an assault. If you are interested and have one
day a month to volunteer, join us!

Talent: If this cause is close to your heart and you have passion or expertise that could be
useful to BeLEAF, consider joining the Board of Directors.

Treasure: Of course, every successful nonprofit requires passion, but passion doesn’t pay the
bills! We are grateful when people donate in large or small ways.

 Monetary donations
 Organizing collections for needed items
 Attending events (upcoming events are BeLEAF’s 3rd Birthday party/Pick a Date
calendar)

To learn more, visit their website here.