Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2631

Tonight's special guest is Nicole Fontaine from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the youngest of 10 children. "My parents are residential school survivors," she says, ".. they grew up in Church run schools. Unhealthy relationships are a norm in our community so the abuse was always there. I was sexual abused by a close family member around the age of 5." Nicole goes on, "I grew up in a home that had unhealthy family dynamics, abuse was happening all around. It was mental, emotional, sexual and spiritual. This lasted right up into my adult years and it is still occurring as I look in from the outside. When the abuse occurred I thought it was a normal everyday thing that children experienced, it was happening all around our community." She continues, "I lived with PTSD for all my life, I was stuck in my trauma. In my twenties (after my first child was born) I was fortunate to meet some great helpers along the way, this is when my healing began. I visited with many therapists and also relied on pharmaceuticals to help with depression and anxiety. Nothing seemed to help because I never dealt with my wounded inner child. I am creating healthy boundaries for me and my family." Nichole is busy now. "I work with social services and deliver parenting and domestic violence workshops. I teach my clients and empower them to use their voices to escape from abusive relationships. I share my life story with clients when we are working on genograms and our history as Indigenous people. It is not our fault that abuse happened to us, that took me almost 40 Years to accept that and believe it. We have the power to be in healthier relationships and to be happy."