Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1145

Tonight's special guest is Jude Dugas from Tallahassee, Florida, suffered from all kinds of abuse and grew up angry. He was always in trouble for something, constantly being yelled at and threatened. "I was often times hit, slapped, punched, grabbed, and jerked around," he recalls. "I was often subjected to the terrorizing form of verbal abuse. I grew up in a constant state of fear from my parents." Jude was always in trouble for something and he hated school. He's alwaya had a problem with depression and anger. In high school it turned into a quiet rage. "By the time I graduated from high school and was going off to college, I was lost." He escaped the family by going to college in Tallahassee but found himself working in an auditing job he hated. "For the next several years, from 2000 to 2008, I would be in and out of therapy and struggle with anger, depression, and thoughts of suicide." In 2008, Jude was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder. A few months after this he stopped abusing alcohol. In 2013 his life changed again. "I finally made up my mind to end my life," he writes. "I decided that I had had enough." But then he had a moment of reflection. A friend's funeral had came to mind. He's in a much better place now. "Presently, I am interning at an organization that works to find housing for local veterans who are in a state of homelessness. I love it." He's making amazing progress. "I am now in a place where I feel like I really fit in and am accepted for who I am. I graduate with an MSW in December. I have also become a yoga teacher and am about to be a guest lecturer in a Family Violence class on the topic of the long term effects of child abuse."