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Founder’s Message

When I created this advocacy website, I did it with one simple belief in my heart: no one should ever feel alone in their pain. Not a child. Not a teenager. Not an adult. Not anyone.

I’m writing this on Valentine’s Day 2026—a day we often celebrate love outwardly. Today, I chose to honor the years of work it took to learn how to love myself. Many people eventually face this same realization, especially those who have lived through trauma. And among them, children who have endured sexual trauma often carry the heaviest, quietest burdens.

For so many, speaking up about abuse feels like standing at the base of a towering structure—one so tall it makes you dizzy just to look at it. I know that feeling intimately, and I never take it lightly. I’ve questioned God more times than I can count, and I understand the agnostic and the atheist. Still, there is a source to our being that transcends doctrine, and the arguments about faith eventually fall away. What remains is the human search for truth, healing, and connection.

I am rarely surprised by what human beings do to each other. Yet it is more than simple irony that we fail to realize we are doing these things to ourselves. In many ways, I share a commonality with the girl in Israel or Russia. I empathize deeply with what a girl may go through in Congo or Iran. What I find remarkable is how many people do not realize there is truly only one race—the human race. My hope is that many voices will share their experiences here: emotions, thoughts, and truths without fear, forming a bridge to a world that says we will no longer be silenced or separated by smaller minds or corrosive acts.

This space is for the searcher. For the person wrestling with memories. For the one who feels something is wrong but can’t name it yet. For the one who was told to stay silent. For the one who doesn’t know where to begin. For the ones who feel so isolated that even their own bodies feel like a cage.

If you feel confused, ashamed, or unsure of who you are, this is a place where you can write freely, open up, and exist without judgment. You may not have the words yet. That’s okay. I didn’t either, once.

I built this space so you would always have somewhere safe to land—somewhere to share your thoughts, find others who understand, and feel a little less alone. I know that loneliness deeply. And I know how powerful it is when someone finally says, “I hear you.”

This is a place where your voice matters. A place where your story is honored. A place where you can breathe, even for a moment, and know you are not alone.

I believe in the power of truth. When survivors share their stories, something incredible happens. Shame loosens its grip, silence loses its power, and hope begins to grow again. Connection becomes real.

Whether you are a young person trying to understand what you’re going through or someone who has carried your story for decades, this space is for you. You deserve safety. You deserve support. You deserve to be heard.

To the survivors who visit this site: You are brave. You are worthy. You are not defined by what happened to you. Your story matters—and so do you.

This organization is more than a website. It is a community. A lifeline. A place of hope.

And I am honored to walk this journey with you.

With compassion and purpose,

RushL

Founder, Voices Over Silence