She Survived Domestic Violence and Built Unsilenced Voices - Michelle

Michelle Jewsbury survived domestic violence, but her story did not end in silence.

In this episode of The Healing in Sharing, Michelle opens up about the early signs of control in an abusive relationship, including isolation, financial abuse, emotional manipulation, and the painful reality of trying to leave more than once. She shares how writing helped her begin to process what happened, how her story became a one-woman play and memoir called But I Love Him, and how her healing eventually became a mission to help other survivors.

Michelle is the founder of Unsilenced Voices, a nonprofit supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in the United States and internationally. In this conversation, we also talk about human trafficking myths, why speaking up matters, and how one woman’s story can become a path of hope for someone else.

This episode is for the woman who has carried pain quietly, the survivor who is still finding her voice, and anyone who wants to better understand the courage it takes to leave, heal, and rebuild.

Topics in this episode include:
domestic violence, emotional abuse, financial abuse, coercive control, human trafficking, survivor advocacy, healing after abuse, faith, writing as healing, and finding your voice.

Connect with Michelle Jewsbury and Unsilenced Voices:
 https://unsilencedvoices.org

Connect with Jen:
Website: https://www.thehealinginsharing.com
Jen Lee Listens: Private listening support for women
Book a complimentary connection call: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=38958021
Instagram: @TheHealingInSharing
YouTube: @TheHealingInSharing11
Email: TheHealingInSharing@gmail.com

Remember, you are stronger than you think.

Transcript

Welcome, Purpose, And Trigger Warning

SPEAKER_03 0:01

I'm grateful you're here today. I'm Jennifer Lee, and this is the Healing in Sharing Podcast. The Healing in Sharing is a space where women tell their stories honestly, connect through shared experience, and take steps towards healing together, letting others know they are not alone. Here, survival becomes strength. I know not every story is meant for a podcast. I created Gen Lee Lissens to provide women with the private space to share what feels too heavy to carry alone. Book a complimentary session at genly listens.com. Before we begin, a gentle trigger warning. This podcast includes discussions of domestic violence, childhood trauma, and other sensitive topics. Please take care of yourself and reach out for help if needed. Thank you to Melissa Turre for composing the beautiful opening melody. Now let's begin today's journey. I am excited to introduce you to Michelle Jewsbury, an international speaker, author, coach, and humanitarian who turns her survival story into a source of hope for others. Born and raised in Idaho, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and later transformed her personal experience in a domestic abuse relationship into a critically acclaimed solo play. And later a memoir titled But I Love Him. In July 2017, she founded Unsilenced Voices, a 501 nonprofit dedicated to empowering survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking across the United States, Ghana, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Michelle expands her impact through coaching, group programs, and immersive experiences like Legacy Camp, helping others tell their stories, publish their work, and step boldly into purpose. She's appeared on major networks, including KTLA5, NBC, ABC, and Fox, and continues to inspire survivors around the world to break the silence and build a legacy. Michelle, thank you for being my guest today. And welcome to the Healing in Sharing Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Thank you so much. I'm very, very excited to be here. And man, I need to hire you to do my intro, actually.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Good. I'm glad I'm glad that you like it. So I think that it's really important. It sets the stage for our conversation, but also introduces the audience to you. So great. Yeah, for sure.

Growing Up Military And Choosing Acting

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Okay, so you grew up in a military family. Yes. And then you later moved to LA to pursue acting. What drew you to the arts and how did that early experience shape you into who you are today?

SPEAKER_02 3:38

I've always loved theater and acting. So before living in Idaho, my daddy was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. And I was a cheerleader at the time, and we were very competitive. So I was not able to participate in other extracurricular activities besides just cheer. So when we moved to Idaho, which was my junior year in high school, I dove into theater arts. So I was starring in some plays, and in my freshman year in college, I even directed a play. And I just enjoyed being able to portray amazing characters on stage, on film, and showcasing a way to overcome obstacles, which is so interesting because God led me down this path, which is very similar to that path in a way. And when I moved to Los Angeles, California, I got an agent immediately. I enrolled into acting classes and I was doing everything that I thought that I needed to do while I was there. And I loved it. I loved being in front of the camera and learning about the craft. And, you know, lo and behold, I ended up meeting somebody that time and turning into this very, very abusive relationship.

The Early Signs Of Control

SPEAKER_03 4:52

For those listening, how did you first recognize the signs that something was not right in this relationship?

SPEAKER_02 5:00

You know what's really quite interesting is the red flags were present before I was even aware of them. So for example, uh, my abuser, I call him Paul. Paul would always want to hold on to my credit cards. He didn't want me to carry a purse. He wanted to take care of everything. We would go to restaurants, he would order for me. At first, I thought that this was charming. I was like, oh, this is kind of nice being taken care of. Lo and behold, it was just the beginning stages of this control factor that he had on me. So there were so many flags. And one of them that was really consistent was his want to move the relationship too fast. So I ended up moving with him within the first four or five months of our relationship. And I left my congregation, I left my friends, I left the people that I had built relationships with in Hollywood, California. And I also left my career path at that time because I ended up moving north and Northern California, Central California, I did not have the same acting opportunities as I would have in Hollywood, California. So I ended up leaving all of that, and I did not understand at the time that this was his form of literally isolating me, controlling me, so that the abuse continued and it got worse and worse and worse.

Emotional, Physical, And Financial Abuse

SPEAKER_03 6:35

Physical and the mental, the emotional, the financial. Did you experience all of those forms of abuse when you were with Paul?

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Unfortunately, I did, yeah. So it first turned out where he was praising me and telling me how amazing I was. He used to tell me how talented I was, yet he had never seen me act before, which that should have been a red flag at the time, but it it wasn't. I was, I literally had blinders on because I loved the idea of love. And fast forward, he started to use those praises and turn those into insults. And then it started to be even more emotionally abusive. And I remember one time in particular, he wanted me to take care of the cleaners in the house, tell the cleaners what to do. And he had given me a list of things he wanted to get done. And one of them was clean the baseboards. Well, he got home from work that afternoon and he looked at the baseboards and put his two fingers along the edge of them and lifted his fingers up, and they were dusty and dirt. And he put them in my face and he said, Look at this, you couldn't even manage the cleaners, and literally had me on my knees scrubbing baseboards for the next two or three hours. So it it started off lovely, and then it turned into this malicious web of lies and coerciveness. And then from there, the physical violence started to get really bad. My first beating lasted well over four hours. This was after he had pushed me so hard against a wall that my head went through it. This was many months after that, actually. And I just didn't see those red flags. And when he had beat me for those four hours, I remember waking up the next morning and looking at my face, and it looked like I had just completed 10 rounds in a boxing match. And then after the physical abuse, you know, he had a chokehold on my finances. I wasn't allowed to work. He didn't want me to work. He had me quit my bartending job when I moved in with him. He bought me a car that I could only drive when he allowed me to drive it. So it was a lot of manipulation. And I'm a strong, independent woman. My mama and daddy raised me to be frank and headstrong and outspoken. And even still, I never experienced the domestic violence growing up, but this manipulative man was able to control me so much that I started to lose a portion of who I was and really acquiesced to what it was that he wanted. And I truly believe that I was the only one that could help him. And that was the major issue as well.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

So yes. Yeah. Because they get their kicks out of, let me see how I can break her down and laugh at what she considers to be independence. And then you end up in this very fearful situation, more worried about how they're going to react than anything else. Where did you find the strength and the courage, the support to finally recognize and take steps to get away from Paul?

Preparing To Leave And Finding Support

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yeah. So one thing, if you are listening and maybe you're not experiencing a domestic violence relationship, but you know somebody who is, and you keep telling them, I see these signs. Why are you walking around with bruises all over you? Get out of the situation. I want you to understand that it takes something happening. So some type of breaking point that the survivor or victim at this point needs to go through in order to really understand, oh no, I am going through something really awful and I need to break free. During that time in my relationship where I was starting to understand that there was something wrong, there were friends who had left me because they had told me so many different times to leave, but I wasn't yet ready. So if you're listening, please just keep your door open. When I finally was ready, I started to understand that I needed to prepare. So I started to pay my car payment two months in advance. So by the time I end up ended up actually leaving, I had a year's worth of car payments so I could keep my car for a year because I couldn't afford it. Um I started to tuck away money. So I wasn't technically allowed to work. He let me do small things here or there. So when I would clean up after him the next morning or in the night, whenever that was, I would actually search in his pockets and he would oftentimes leave cash. So I started to hide away cash so that when I was actually ready and strong enough to escape, that I could escape with some kind of money on me. So lo and behold, you know, about a year later is when I was seeing a therapist. He thought that I needed to see a therapist because of the way that I treated him. Uh, but but actually the therapist was like, okay, Michelle, you really need to look at what's going on here. So there was there was one time that uh I got home and I was having heart palpitations, I was sweating, I knew I needed to leave. He was at work, I took a shower, I was trying to calm myself down, and then I was like, okay, do it. And I grabbed all of my clothes, everything that I could, and ended up throwing them in my car and driving south to my godfather's house in California. And actually, I ended up leaving about seven different times before finally breaking free. But I remember that one time in particular because I turned around and my dogs were there and I could not take my dogs and I left my dogs there as a lot of survivors have to do, leave their animals. And that was one of the hardest things that I had to do.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

Now, did Paul try to contact you after you left?

The Final Break And Documenting Reality

SPEAKER_02 12:31

Yes. So uh there were multiple times that I did leave. I don't know if it was seven or more, but that is statistically speaking, that it takes about seven times. There were multiple times that I tried to leave. The last straw, though, was when I found out he was having affairs on me. At that point, he hadn't physically harmed me for almost one year. And sometimes it goes like that. You know, you'll get beat up, you know, things will happen physically, and then I'm in therapy. He said he was in therapy, we're working on things. He was still emotionally and financially abusive, but he didn't physically hurt me. And then I found out about affairs. And then, of course, he physically hurt me then. But when I found out about those affairs, psychologically, um, my subconscious was able to tolerate the abuse, to tolerate um uh him relying on me and me feeling like I was the only person that really could help him. But I could not handle him cheating on me. I just broke and I was diving into a bottle every night. I was drinking heavily, he was holding my hair back while I was throwing up. There were so many things that happened. And then at that point, he said, Go back to LA, go live with your godfather for a little bit so you can get yourself put back together. When I was in Los Angeles that time, I started to document things that happened. And that's when I read it back to myself. And I was like, Oh my gosh, how is this me that I'm reading about? And and at that point, I was like, I can't, I can't ever go back. And it was very hard, very,

A Civil Case Against Her Abuser

SPEAKER_02 14:05

very hard. The oxytocin started to decline. I was missing him, and I ended up contacting an attorney, which then led to another attorney and another attorney, uh, where we ended up suing my abuser for the abuse that I had endured. My statute of limitations ran out for a criminal prosecution, but the attorney he found a clause where we were able to sue him civilly.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

Wow. Okay, so this is the first time I've talked to somebody that actually was able to legally go after the um the abuser civically.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

Yeah, so he he abused the wrong girl. Let me tell you what. My entire career now is based on what I went through, but you know, God leads us down paths in order to do this. But yes, the the the lawsuit was very challenging. I can't really say too much about it. We settled out of court, however, I remember deposition in particular, and he had hired a female lawyer to depose me. And I was in deposition for hours. I don't remember if it was three hours or five hours, it was just very long. And he sat across from me, and this woman made me recall everything that we wrote, and I wrote out every incident. So it was like 200 and something questions that she had for me. And of course, I was being recorded, and I literally had to go through each one of these experiences, and it was one of the most painful times that I had ever gone through. And he sat right across from me, and I remember one time in particular, he looked at me and he mouthed the words, I'm sorry. And it just my world was rocked uh because of that situation, but I kept going through and and we kept moving forward, and like I said, we settled out of court, so I there was no big judgment that was awarded to me. We we settled. Uh, the great thing about this though is even if you get pennies on the dollar, you still got your power back. So it was known that he had abused me so bad that even the court systems were probably going to take my side.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

Absolutely. And you know, I end each podcast episode with the saying, you are stronger than you think, and you are the epitome of exactly you know what I mean when I say that. And yes, you took your power back. Uh that is amazing, inspirational, and I know that others will hear this, and that little fire will light inside them, like, okay, I can get my I can get my fire back too, right?

Writing As Survival Then Healing

SPEAKER_03 16:48

Part of your healing journey then was writing, but I love him. Oh my gosh, it's a very the very personal story. What was the process of writing it like? Uh, were there triggers? It's very different when you put something on paper than what you've just been carrying around inside you forever.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

Yeah, because when you're experiencing it, you're in survival mode. So you do what you need to do to survive. So whether you, if you're listening, are experiencing domestic violence, sexual violence, you've gone through childhood sexual violence, uh, human trafficking issues, all of these situations, you literally are in survival mode. So you're not thinking, okay, how am I gonna get out? How you're like, okay, how am I not gonna trigger this person? So when I left and I started to write out my experiences, my therapist at that time was like, well, why don't you just start to jot down some things? So that's what I did. I just started to jot down some things. Stream of consciousness writing is what this is. So there was no form, there was no um real message or arc or anything. I just started to write and the halfway down, it could be your grocery list, right? You just get out of you what is inside. I started to read that and I was like, wow. So what's interesting is I started to go to this acting class that was about solo theater. Never thought about doing a solo play in my entire life. Started going to this class, and I brought some of my writing to this director. Her name is Jessica Lynn Johnson, who is now a dear friend of mine, and she said, Let's put this in a solo play. And my first writing actually ended up as a one-woman play, me playing roughly 14 different characters on stage, beating myself up on stage, showing what domestic violence looked like. And then from there, that's when it was this calling to do more. I took that writing and then uh rewrote into a book format and published my first book in 2019, just a couple years after I started the nonprofit organization.

SPEAKER_03 18:59

Wow. So what was the difference in regards to the healing between um being in the play versus writing it in a book? I'm curious.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

So what's interesting is with the play, you have to rehearse. So I literally was rehearsing these scenes every single day for months because you I had to memorize 65 minutes of dialogue. It's a lot of dialogue. So, in order to do that, you rehearse, you rehearse. So, in that rehearsal process, I experienced and re-experienced all of these situations that I had gone through with Paul. And uh at first, I I didn't want to hear from other people that it was therapeutic, that it was healing. I was like, I'm just doing this. It's an acting piece. I was just doing it. So I was very headstrong and I really was still very hurt during this phase. So when I performed it on stage, it was more cathartic to get out of me all of these experiences. Now, it's a theater piece. So there's about 15 to 20 percent of the play that was inaccurate. So, for example, not to um, you know, burst anybody's bubble or to ruin the ending, but there's an alternative ending in the play, which is not actually in in real life. Now, when you go to the book, the book is 100% accurate besides names, dates, and locations. So, of course, for my protection, I had to change some of these things. But when I was writing it out, it was me recalling verbatim things that were said, things that were done. Me performing it was able to heal me faster, I think. So movement therapy, uh uh speaking therapy, all of that really tended to help even more that allowed me then to write the book. And I went through probably a good three iterations of my book before I hit publish because I first was writing it from hate, and then the last version has a lot more forgiveness in it. So I I really have forgiven Paul and I really hope that he's getting the help that he needs.

Starting Unsilenced Voices From Scratch

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Yes, in 2017, you founded Unsilenced Voices.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

Yes. When I started the nonprofit, I uh as we said earlier in this conversation, I literally was a bartender in California. I had no idea what I was doing. And um, I was I was pouring drinks one afternoon, and I was like, hey, Stephon, or whoever the the guest was at the time, I think I'm gonna start a nonprofit. And they're like, Yeah, okay, cool, Michelle. That sounds great. Make sure to grab me my beer. So fast forward, my first mastermind group was literally bar patrons. So coming up with the name Unsilenced Voices came from me working at the bar. I was literally talking to people, hey, what about this name or that name? And like so many bar patrons got in on this with me. So I want to Thank everybody at Dirty Bull Tavern. Fast forward, there was this gentleman from Ghana who came to the bar and said, I love what you're doing. Why don't you go to my home country? And I've always had a heart for Africa. Before I even found Christ, I used to have dreams about me surrounded by African children. I didn't know why. And honestly, the dream that I have in my head still has not exactly come true. So there's much more work to do. However, I was like, okay, let's go. So he introduced me to some of his family, and I literally packed a bag, got my visa, and went to Ghana. It could have turned out so bad, but God had my back and I was there unaware of the extent of the situation. I remember dressing up to go speak someplace, and we ended up in the slums, and we were walking over garbage piles and animal feces. And I was just so shocked at the living conditions. And when I was speaking, it was, I mean, I had the translator, and these women were so impoverished, and many of these women in these markets were being sexually assaulted nightly. So that's when I was like, okay, it's not about me. I need to start listening. And so I started to listen. I started to ask. I I then at the very last day of that Ghana trip, uh, we met a partner organization called the ARC Foundation. So I worked with the ARC Foundation for a couple of years and we helped to subsidize them and gift money, uh, be able to provide different programs and services. And then, of course, expanding to uh Sierra Leone, that's where the bulk of our programming is. We have management on the ground, uh, supervisors, we've got two villages we help to support. We have our um flagship program, which is Matilda's program, which is our vocational training center program, where we've got so many girls on a wait list. I mean, hundreds and hundreds, but we are helping roughly 65, 67 girls right now go through vocational training. We pay for materials, monthly stipend, uh, medical and counseling. And then we're in the process of uh starting a school in our office space because we don't have the funds yet to build a school, but that's next on the list. We're gonna build a big, huge vocational training school to be able to serve hundreds and hundreds of girls. Many of these girls have been trafficked to the country. 99.9% of them have experienced some type of sexual abuse uh and of course domestic violence.

SPEAKER_03 24:38

You know, I want to take you back though to that first trip in Ghana um when you spoke to those women. How many women were present?

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Hundreds. Hundreds and hundreds of women. I I couldn't even tell you. So uh when we were speaking in the slums, there was probably a good two, three hundred women that came out. Uh, I spoke at a church that trip as well, where there was probably a good seven, eight hundred women. Uh, another trip that I had taken to Ghana with the ARC, so I met the ARK Foundation there, and we ended up going to a school. And this was the most horrific thing that I learned about this situation. But we went to the school, this girls' school, where there's male teachers and female students, and there was over 800 students. And after speaking to some of the students, the girls had to do unnecessary sexual favors in order to get their grades. And uh this was just shocking and eye-opening to me because there's 25 male teachers and 800 female students, and they were being taken advantage of. There are so many different things, and this doesn't just happen in Ghana. So if you're from Ghana, I am not just picking out Ghana. This was just my experience. It unfortunately happens everywhere, including first world countries, the United States, developing nations, third world countries. Uh, statistically speaking, one in three women worldwide have experienced some type of sexual violence and domestic violence. So, with that statistic, we we really need to be more aware. I personally believe that unfortunately the pornography industry, the uh need for sex in society, all of this is a huge contributing factor to why sexual abuse, domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse, and human trafficking exist today.

SPEAKER_03 26:31

Absolutely. And we definitely can dig into that more. We know that as women, it's hard to come forward, talk about abuse, sexual abuse, whatever that looks like, trafficking. How did you go into another country, build that trust?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

It was very challenging at first because I didn't speak the language, and I'm a white girl with blonde hair. So I know that people listening, they don't see that. So I'm a white girl with blonde hair. So when I ended up showing up, they're like, oh, who is this white person who thinks that you're a savior? Which unfortunately, this is a huge complex for a lot of people who want to help. I needed to tell my story. In order for me to build rapport with the women, they needed to understand that I too went through domestic violence. Once they understood that I was similar to them in that area, that's when people started opening up. The women started opening up. At first, nobody wanted to say anything. You know, in a lot of these countries, it is a familial problem. So it's within the family, you deal within the family, you don't talk about it outside of family, you don't go to seek an attorney, you don't do any of that. However, things are starting to shift, which is great. And this specifically in Sierra Leone, because we've been there for so long now, there's so many women that will just stand up, go to the police, the family support unit, and even in Ghana, you know, with the ARC Foundation, they're starting to speak up more. And this is what we want because once one speaks up, then it creates a domino effect. And if the women trust this one person speaking up, then they'll trust the other women speaking up. And then laws start to change, uh, police start to become more involved, uh, situations start to arise where these women can have jobs on their own. And there's so much more to do, don't get me wrong, but that's kind of how it started with me speaking up and then a domino effect of other women trusting me enough to start sharing their stories.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

I love that you are working at a bar. You met a gentleman from Ghana, you go to Ghana, and you know, now you have just created this amazing path for these women, and through advocacy, through education, through support. Going back to the education side of things, the sex industry, um, the intrafamiliar, like you just said, people have their own perceptions of what those types of things look like. Bring us into the real world.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Um, so I'll talk US. What where are you based again? Florida. Florida. Okay, good. So we're both in Florida.

Human Trafficking Myths In The US

SPEAKER_02 29:25

Unfortunately, Florida is third highest human trafficking in the nation. So, us as a state in Florida, third highest human trafficking. A lot of people, when they think of human trafficking, think of the movie Taken. Maybe they might think of the movie Sound of Freedom. And I know a lot of the people involved in Sound of Freedom personally, okay. So they might they might think of these situations as somebody being taken from the United States and being taken overseas, and then trafficking is happening overseas. If you are in the United States, and I am literally talking to just US-based people, there are over 200,000 children within the US being trafficked within our borders. These are kids who have been trafficked from their families or typically from foster care systems in the United States that are then being tossed around, unfortunately, given to other people. And you can sell a person, a child, 10 times in a day, you can sell a bag of cocaine once. So this is why human trafficking is so prevalent in our society. The need for sex, and unfortunately, in first world countries like the United States, pornography, sex in front of us all the time, women who are flaunting every bits of all of their pieces everywhere. It's creating this desire for what God had originally intended for it to be holy. And now, unfortunately, this need for sex is so prevalent that there are girls on the streets who are 11, 12, 13, 14 years old in our own backyards that are saying that they're doing sex work, or as others like to call it, prostitution, but sex sex work is the correct terminology. Uh, and many of these men who buy them as sex workers don't understand that they're underage, don't understand that they don't want to be there. They think that, well, because I'm paying them, they they're they're wanting to do this. The mass majority of these women who are selling their bodies do not want to do this, and they are forced into it. And a lot of it are parents that have put them into sex trafficking, traffickers who have found them through the foster care system, who start to groom them and buy them gifts and presents. And it can look like so many different things, but I want people to be aware that it does not just happen overseas, it happens here in our own backyard.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

Absolutely. And and people don't just wake up, uh, especially women in in wake up one day and say, I'm gonna go work at a strip club. I'm gonna go be a prostitute. Like that is not how it works.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

No, not at all. Not at all. And I mean, yes, you do find some women in strip clubs who want to be there. Some. But not a lot. I mean, we're talking, if I were to put a statistic to it, which this is inaccurate, um, I would probably say a good 70% do not want to be there that are being forced to be there.

SPEAKER_03 32:26

I uh the frustrating thing for me is that if there weren't others supporting throwing money at that, it wouldn't exist. No, it wouldn't. Mm-mm. No.

SPEAKER_02 32:37

And unfortunately, you know, sex trafficking and and this sexual ideation has been around since the beginning of time. And women have been forced into sex work. And early on, we've had madams who tend to take care of us. And unfortunately, this has now turned into major traffickers and people who abuse these women all the time. And you don't know until you know, and then once you see, you cannot unsee.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

Right. And people don't recognize or realize that events like the Super Bowl hotspot.

SPEAKER_02 33:09

Oh, yeah, 100%. And uh also with the Super Bowl, although it being like one of the number one events for human trafficking, it also is considered the day of dread for victims of domestic violence because the men are all pumped up and testosterone driven. And when you mix that with some alcohol, and then they get back, and maybe their team doesn't win, they take out their their um grief on the people around them. And unfortunately, this day of dread causes a lot of suffering for a lot of victims of domestic violence.

SPEAKER_03 33:45

Is there any other facts, statistics, stories that you want to share with my audience while we're all listening intently?

See Something, Say Something

SPEAKER_02 33:54

I guess the other fact I would say, I volunteered at the Downtown Women's Center on Skid Row in Los Angeles prior to me starting my own organization. And while I was there, I learned a lot. I I really love the Downtown Women's Center for what it does for the women on the streets. Their goal is to get these women out of homelessness. But I learned a statistic that one third of the women were there because of domestic violence, one third mental health, and one third drug addiction. But that one third with domestic violence, we can stop. And we really just need to open our eyes, open our mouths, and understand when you see something, say something. You don't have to stand up and try to get involved in a fight that you see on the street. But if you see something, report it, call the police. There are so many times and so many stories that I've heard where a woman was assaulted, and even young boys. So don't get me wrong, there are boys that get assaulted as well, but just the mass majority are a lot of women and girls. But women who are assaulted in a park where there's a 200-unit complex housing 400 people, and nobody calls the police. Nobody calls because why? Because they think that somebody else is gonna do it, because they think that the cops already know, or they think that it's just some type of altercation and nothing's actually happening. Pick up the damn phone, call the police if you hear something, if you see something, do something about it. It's not them. So see, Lee Steinberg, and I know we're getting close to cutting this off, but Lee Steinberg, who is a good friend of mine, who is Patrick Mahomes' agent, so he's the real life Jerry Maguire. Lee Steinberg spoke at unsilenced voices fundraising event not too long ago. And he said, from stage, we oftentimes think that they are going to fix it, that they are going to do something about it. Well, who is they? They are you. They are you, literally, guys. They is not the politicians, they is not the organizations, they is you who is sitting at home listening to this podcast right now. You are the one who is going to stop this. You are the one who is going to make a difference. So remember that. It is not they or them, it is you.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

Okay, wow. Uh great information. Thank you for opening up, sharing everything.

How You Can Support Unsilenced Voices

SPEAKER_03 36:23

Thank you for sharing everything that you are doing. Um, how can we support you?

SPEAKER_02 36:29

Well, there's many different ways. Um, first, unsilenced voices needs help. So we really are striving to build schools, to build housing. Many of our girls in Sierra Leone are stuck living in brothels because there's no housing for them. They literally are stuck and surrounded by what it is that they are escaping. So we need your help. So if you can donate $5, $10, if you are a large-scale donor and you have a surplus of $25,000, $50,000, a million dollars that you have to give away to an organization, please connect at unsilencedvoices.org. Connect with me. Let's get on a call. We have amazing donor packages where you actually get to go to Sierra Leone and see for yourself what your money is doing. You get to meet our girls, you get to experience what it is to be in that country, understand what we are doing. And I think that that's super important. So if you are out there, if you feel called, please connect with me at unsilencedvoices.org.

SPEAKER_03 37:47

And I love that they get to go and actually witness how they are helping, who they are helping and how it is helping.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Yeah, it's very, very important. Um, for these donor tiers, there's a there's a lot that we're now giving some of these donors for a great ROI. And of course, we are exceptional at getting media from KTLA5, like you said earlier, but ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, with our book collaboration alone, we have been on all of these platforms, plus some. And um, a lot of this exposure, we're able to then talk about some of the donors that are giving to the organization and highlight your efforts.

SPEAKER_03 38:29

All of the information and links will be in the show notes as well. Um, final message for our audience, Michelle.

Just Keep Swimming And Closing Words

SPEAKER_02 38:36

So I I I usually end podcasts similarly, but I'm gonna do it again because I think that this would be a really fun ending. So there's a movie called Finding Nemo. Do you know what that movie is? I do. Yeah, so in Finding Nemo, and I use this a lot, but I do quote the movie, so it's not mine. Um, there's a fish, her name is Dory, and she's an airhead, and she uh she loses her memory after I think 10 or 15 seconds. Um, so even though she gets lost, even though she, you know, loses her way every now and then, the one thing that she always keeps singing to herself is just keep swimming. So if you're out there, if you are experiencing adversity, domestic violence, sexual abuse, if you are going through something that you do not think that you can overcome, I want you to know that Dory says it right. Just keep swimming, just keep putting one foot in front of the other. God's got your back.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

Impactful. Michelle, thank you for being my guest today on the Healing and Sharing podcast. Thank you so much. You're welcome, and thank you for listening. This is Jen, and remember, you are stronger than you think. Until next time.

SPEAKER_00 40:21

Not sure if you would make it home, leaving it all open, God's hands. Just happy to see the sunrise again. You're my kid heart when you wander when I lost them. I'll pick you up take a table. Then the last thing to start on your thoughts. Starting to be on the pill keeping you, baggy you bully. Be replaced with all the new. But until then leading me, let me be everything. I'll keep you safe from all the harm I'll heal you from the war. The thoughts that keep you a bed, little daughter is on my shoulders. It will always be okay. You a little holders. Let the guard do it. I think you will take the pain away.