Hello! Thank you for being here.
We are a small collective of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who have organized together for the past two years. Before we came together, we had each been working with and supporting other adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse and/or sexual assault. Our calling to continue this work in community with other adult survivors is what brought us together.
Last year, we hosted our first entirely free gathering, Healing Together, on Ohlone Land/Oakland area for adults who experienced CSA. For two days, we offered and engaged in somatic and ancestral healing practices that supported our nervous systems, learned new skills, shared meals, and discussed the bittersweet strangeness of being in community with others who had similar experiences. It was transformative. We learned so much and received lots of positive feedback from attendees local to Oakland/Bay Area and even from Southern California. One of our biggest takeaways was that adults who experienced CSA would like more spaces co-created by survivors for survivors where we can heal together.
In hopes of inspiring other adult survivors to organize similarly, we applied to several conferences to share back about Healing Together, the importance of adult CSA survivor co-created healing spaces and hoping to connect with, learn from, and potentially collaborate with other organizations. And to our delight, we were accepted to two- the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Conference (NACRJ) and the National Sexual Assault Conference (NSAC)!
Unfortunately acceptance to these conferences does not come with financial support to cover any of our team’s airfare, lodging, or conference registration tickets. We are seeking community support to help our team get to these conferences. We know the importance of doing this work and being in these spaces gives us the opportunity to meet potential collaborators and funders who are equally committed to ensuring that CSA survivors have access to community and free care. Our fundraising amount includes registration fees, lodging and air travel for 3-5 of us depending on the amount raised. Below is our fundraising breakdown:
- NACRJ conference registration fee: $425 per presenter
- NSAC conference registration ticket fee (based upon last year’s pricing): $595 per presenter.
- Our group’s shared lodging for both conferences for three days: hotel prices range from $130-180/night.
- “Personalized pricing” practices prohibit us from looking too deeply into airfare but as both conferences are on the East Coast we would be flying across the country from California.
We understand that not everyone is in a financial position to give at this time. And we also understand that there are many forms of support. If you can’t donate at this time, then we ask that you please share this GoFund Me with your community who would be willing to donate or pass it along. We also welcome any lodging leads in either New Orleans or DC.
Times are wild. Hold your loved ones close and be sure to hug yourself too.
With care,
Tiffany and Sana Sana Collective