Voyage Houston Profiles Patrice Griffin
Article excerpt:
Patrice, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a disabled US Army veteran and survivor of child sexual abuse. My abuse began from the age of 8-12 by my cousin and then from 14-18 by a rap group/cult. The road to recovery has not been easy, from being homeless and sleeping on the trains in NYC to being hospitalized at the Veterans hospital for suicidality and suffering from major depression and PTSD.
For many years I did not discuss my abuse because I was embarrassed and ashamed and I didn’t think that anyone would believe me. Through therapy, medication and a support system after many years I finally was able to tell my truth. I had come to realize that everything I was feeling I was not alone. I found out that it wasn’t my fault and I didn’t have to beat myself up over the abuse any longer.
The road to recovery has not been easy at all but each day I try my best to push forward. I decided to start my nonprofit Patrice’s Kids Inc. to bring awareness to child sexual abuse which is an epidemic and a lot of people shy away from the important conversations that need to be discussed due to lack of knowledge or fear. I’m here to break the stigma and open up a line of communication as a survivor.
I advocate along side other survivors such as Gary Greenberg, who is a candidate for New York State Senate to have the Child Victims Act passed. The bill was recently signed into legislation. This bill allows survivors who were not able to bring charges against there abusers due to the statute of limitations to file a civil suit. There is a one year period to file your claim. My passion is protecting as many kids as I can from sexual abuse.