CA--SNAP commends Presentation High graduates for providing a forum for #PresToo stories
For immediate release Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Statement by Melanie Jula Sakoda of California, Volunteer East Bay Leader for SNAP, the Survivors Network (925-708-6175, [email protected])
Presentation High graduates Kathryn Leehane and Cheryl Hodgin Marshall started the website Make Pres Safe because they “school administrators failed to act when they came to them with separate stories of abuse.” Leehane explained:
"My hope is that my fellow alums, members of the various boards, and every single person invested in the well-being of the students at PHS read the victim’s stories – hear their voices – and ensure the PHS administration and board do the right thing: take responsibility for their mistakes, apologize to the survivors, and make permanent changes to protect all of the young women entrusted to their care."
When leaders of institutions, including religious ones like this San Jose Catholic school, do not respond appropriately to reports of the sexual abuse of minors, people concerned about their failure will understandably seek other venues to make their voices heard. This is what Leehane and Hodgin Marshall have done, and we applaud them for their activism.
New forums like this should serve as a wake-up call to all institutions that have ignored and suppressed reports about child sex crimes that occurred on their watch. There is a growing social consensus about the heinousness of such behavior — as the stiff sentence given today to former US Gymnasts doctor Larry Nassar reminds us.
More and more people are refusing to suffer alone and in silence. SNAP has provided a venue for victims’ truth for decades, and we are thrilled to have the brave survivors of Presentation High create a new forum for victims to share, heal and promote change.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 25,000 members. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
CONTACT
Melanie Jula Sakoda (925-708-6175, [email protected]), Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, [email protected]), or Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Executive Director (314-503-0003, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director