Leadership Jackson Class members are highly involved in the Jackson community throughout their participation in the program. This community involvement serves as a catalyst for long lasting community service well past the constraints of the LJ program. As members of the LJ 42 class, the White Tails team continues this tradition of compassionate community service by embracing WRAP for their project this year.
Over the last 45 years, WRAP has helped thousands change their lives and realize their hopes for a violence-free future. One of the most recent of these is a young woman who, with WRAP's help, has completely turned her life around. This young woman grew up in poverty in an area regarded by most as highly dangerous. She was raped and abused as a child and again as an adolescent. Pregnant as a result of the second rape, she had decided to keep her baby, but she was suffering from the trauma of all of the abuse she had experienced. A patrol officer advised her to come to WRAP. She did, and that one simple act has made all the difference in her life and in the life of her baby.
As the result of WRAP's support of her healing process and advocacy on her behalf, she has been able to get a job, get enrolled in college, get quality childcare for her baby, get transportation, and move herself and her baby into safe, affordable housing. With plans to study nursing, she wants to give back to the community that has now given so much to her. In sharing her story with others, she expressed her gratitude for WRAP, saying: "I was so surprised to find out that EVEN PEOPLE LIKE ME can get help."
The goal of the LJ42 White Tails Team is to create a warm and comforting environment for survivors of sexual assault seeking support in Jackson/Madison County. The Team also wants to create a comfortable space for community members to meet to discuss strategies for addressing the issues that give rise to violence against women and girls in our community. The team will also provide a comfortable space for WRAP professionals to go for temporary respite from the trauma they work with on a daily basis.
As members of our compassionate Jackson/Madison County Community, we hope that you will consider the work that WRAP does in our community to end violence, change lives, and give hope and give as much as you can to help us change the lives of more survivors and their children.
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