(RNS) — For years, Jules Woodson has advocated for reform in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, hoping to assist survivors of sexual abuse and hold abusers to account.
Now she’s joined a nonprofit effort to connect abuse survivors with mental health services and counseling, through a new initiative announced Monday (Sept. 12).
“I’ve always wanted to be part of something bigger than my own story,” said Woodson, who is co-founder and chief operations officer for Help;Hear;Heal, a nonprofit that will provide scholarships to abuse survivors seeking counseling.
The nonprofit will fund six sessions of counseling for abuse survivors through a partnership with Thriveworks, a counseling practice that provides in-person and online therapy. Survivors can get assistance through the Help;Hear;Heal website, which will link them to Thriveworks.
RELATED: For Abuse Survivors Like Jules Woodson, the Indiana Pastor Video Is All Too Familiar
Abuse survivors often face challenges in getting the help they need, said Todd McKay, founder and CEO of Help;Hear;Heal. There’s often a great deal of shame and trauma when they come forward about abuse and the headaches of navigating the health care system, where insurance doesn’t always pay for counseling.
Some survivors, especially younger people still on their parents’ insurance, may not be ready to reveal that they have been abused, he said.
“Our model is, we’ll deal with insurance later,” said McKay. “Let’s give you the support you need immediately to help.”
McKay became involved in assisting abuse survivors after learning that a member of his family had been sexually abused. That family member was able to get help, in part because McKay could afford it.
“We were lucky in that we could write a check,” McKay said. “Not everyone can do that.”
He also worries that some survivors may give up on getting counseling because of the headaches involved — or will remain silent.
RELATED: What the Church Needs to Learn From Jules Woodson
McKay first met Woodson on social media, where she often advocates for abuse survivors in the Southern Baptist Convention and other church settings. The story of her own abuse gained national attention in 2018 after she confronted the pastor who had abused her 20 years earlier when she was a teenager and her abuser was a youth pastor.
Her abuser went on to become a megachurch pastor. His church gave him a standing ovation after he confessed. He later resigned and started a new church.
