Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2461

Tonight's special guest is Crystal Matey from Hoschton, Georgia, who grew up in poverty with a mother who'd experienced her own abuse and an addict father. "I’ve survived sexual, physical, and emotional abuse," she reports, "beginning around the age of 3 and continuing throughout my childhood." At 6 she told her mother that her paternal grandfather had been sexually abusing her, which forced her mother into the position of single parent. "We lived in poverty and with food insecurity for years." Crystal explains, "My mother also came from a family heavy with the cycles of abuse. Whether it was the stress of being a single parent to three children or the darkness of her own trauma, she was unable to break those cycles." She physically, emotionally, and verbally abused Crystal throughout her childhood. "I lived in a state of fear on an almost daily basis." Crystal's father, an addict, was absent almost entirely. "Enduring so much abuse for the majority of my childhood meant I saw myself as worthless, as damaged, as fundamentally unlovable." Today, she's on a path towards love, healing, and success. "I have a small family of my own, where I feel safe and supported." But she's been diagnosed with PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. "Over the past four years, I have been active in my own healing process. Through therapy, meditation, reading, and medication, I am in a better place when it comes to coping with my traumas and triggers. It’s a war I fight every single day. Sometimes it feels like a battle too large to win, but I push forward anyway." Thank you, Crystal, for reaching out like this and volunteering to tell your story to your NAASCA family! We hope others will, too!