Give To the Max Day!!

Today is Give to the Max Day and non-profits around Minnesota gather to share more about their non-profits and to ask for support for the cause that is near and dear to their heart. Here is more information about how you can help this year.  Post on your FB page, help share the word, this…

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Learning More: Tonic Immobility

In this 4th and final installment of Learning More about Tonic Immobility, we wanted to share this webinar that HOPE Center hosted with Britta Koenen.  We hope it is helpful and you find the information insightful and healing. Please share this webinar widely. The more people who understand tonic immobility, who understand how and why…

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Learning More: Tonic Immobility Part 3

In our final installment of our Tonic Immobility series, we will look at what you can do to help share this information, and how to respond when someone shares their experience with you. “I felt paralyzed”: breaking down a sexual assault reaction (Part 3) Welcome back! In Part 1, we talked about a reaction that…

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Learning More: Tonic Immobility Part 2

Part 2 of our series on Learning More about Tonic Immobility: “I felt paralyzed”: breaking down a sexual assault reaction (Part 2) Welcome back! Last time, we talked about a reaction that can happen during sexual assault called tonic immobility. Basically, this is a state of temporary paralysis where you’re fully conscious but you can’t…

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Learning More: Tonic Immobility

In our new series “Learning More” we will be addressing some different topics that we invite you to learn more about. Today’s blog post is Part 1 on Tonic Immobility from Britta Koenen. “I felt paralyzed”: breaking down a sexual assault reaction (Part 1) Imagine this: you’re hosting a group of friends over for dinner,…

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What if, after a sexual assault …

What if, after a sexual assault, the first thing you wanted to do was tell people, because you knew that everyone would believe you? And that they would be there with you — steady and loving — through the days, and the months and the years that followed? What if they kept you company when…

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We will win though

During the past weeks, our nation has been awash in the issue of sexual assault as the Kavanaugh hearings placed it front and center in the news and on social media. The nuances of all those stories are intimately familiar for me and for many survivors. In my personal life, in my work in the…

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When an abuser is someone we admire

When I was growing up, we watched the Cosby Show faithfully. Like many families, we felt like Bill Cosby was a family friend who shared our home every week and invited us into his own. He earned the nickname “America’s Dad.” His recent conviction for sexual misconduct invites us to look at the way we…

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Remembering Barbara Jean…

Remembering Barbara Jean “I remember clearly talking to Barb on the phone in the morning on that day.  Barb was working at the Chamber just for the morning, by herself, and she was in such a happy mood.  She told me that she had dinner with Tim the night before, and how much she enjoyed…

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Keeping the “Me too” conversation going

In the middle of October, out of nowhere, my Facebook feed filled with posts that said “Me too” as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual assault and sexual harassment. At first it felt exhilarating that our culture’s denial of our reality might be lifting a bit. The next day…

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