Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1125

Tonight's special guest is Amber (O'Neill) Thornton from Albany, New York, a child abuse survivor and activist who's putting together "A Well Kept Secret," a book of anonymous survivor stories meant to raise awareness about child abuse. She says, "I was abused sexually, physically, and emotional by my father. My first memory of it was at five years old. I turned him in at 11 years old. I've been in counseling on and off and had a brief stay in Four Winds. I am currently in school for criminal justice, working from home for a family law attorney, caring for my two boys, and working on this book. The goal of the book is to wake a lot of people up to the fact that very little is being done to protect children from abuse. I have been in and out of family court fighting for custody of my six year old." Because of her experience she has a mission, "My goal is to write a book that will make people aware of what children go through. People don't seem to realize how little is actually done when abuse is reported. I was abused for 9 years of my childhood. Child protective services expects to be able to tell in one visit whether or not a child is in a safe home. They were in my home multiple times and left me with a monster. Currently I am locating other survivors to interview about their experiences and their thoughts and feelings as they went through them." She goes on, ""I can't change the world if no one reads the book but I truly want to do this right and reach as many people as possible." Survivors who are willing to share their story anonymously can reach her at alynnrichardson1988@gmail.com