Carmen's Story

Carmen's sexual abuse began when she was 5 years old and continued until she was 16. "I was just existing in this world. Since the age of 12, my life consisted of drugs, alcohol, depression, isolation, anger and just wanting to end my life. At age forty, I tried to kill myself. Then I came to The Women's Center and finally talked about the deep dark secret of being sexually abused…There is nothing I can do to give back to The Women's Center what they have given to me. I have a life today. On April 12 of this year, I celebrated my 6th year clean from drug addiction. I know the guilt and shame that I carried for years is not mine - it belongs to the ones who abused me. This is the secret that I was going to take to my grave, or was it the secret that would have put me in my grave? The work that The Women's Center does for people like me is nothing short of a miracle."