For immediate release: Friday, March 18, 2011

Clergy sex abuse victims to start new support group

An international self-help organization for men and women who were molested by religious figures is starting a Richmond, VA chapter and will be holding its first confidential support group meeting next Thursday, March 24th.

“SNAP has become my extended family. They are always there when I need them most. They understand how hard it can be just to get out of bed in the morning. Knowing that there are others who understand what I have gone through has allowed me to begin my healing journey” said Becky, who is the Virginia director of The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

We hope that by starting this group in the Richmond area we can reach out to new victims who are still suffering in silence. We want to urge both victims and their supporters to join us next Thursday for our first self-help group. By sharing our stories, we recognize that we are not alone, and we can begin to heal.

This confidential support group – for clergy sex abuse victims and their families – will be held at 7 p.m. on March 24th, at an undisclosed location (to protect the privacy of participants). Formed in 1988 and based Chicago, SNAP has over 10,000 members in the US and around the world. It’s a confidential non-profit and its mission is to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded. SNAP has no affiliation with any church organization and helps victims hurt in any denomination.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

For more information please contact:
Becky Ianni, 703-801-6044, [email protected], Dottie Klammer, 804-347-9974, Barb Dorris, 314-862-7688, [email protected]