Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2881

Tonight's special guest is Jay Bachelor from Phoenix, Arizona. Originally from Georgia, we're delighted to have him join us as our newest NAASCA family member. He'll be telling us his child abuse story for the first time. "I am the youngest of 3 brothers," Jay explains. At a very young age my father would leave us in the care of addicts and other alcoholic adults. It was when I was four years old, when a strange man whose name I do not know, came into the living room and raped me." He was also abused violently. "After that time, sexual confusion and dysfunctional circumstances worsened, along with beatings," he says. "I played with dolls and was told by my very own cousins not to ACT like or BECOME A FAGGOT." Jay's father became more and more violent. "Often I was beaten by belts, tree branches and electrical cords." This behavior continued until early in middle school, when a nurse saw and recognized his bruising from abuse. Jay was immediately placed in various foster homes until the end of his 8th grade year. "I was then placed back into the same house with my father." His father was in rehabilitation and had sobered up. Jay was in some ways 'lucky'. Many children never experience a clean and sober parent. "Once high school started, I began to learn how to 'normalize' my life," he says. We hope Jay will stay close to NAASCA. It's our experience that those who get involved, especially through volunteering, do well. We all agree that we get more from giving ourselves to a newcomer than those who we seek to serve can understand.