What’s Been on Our Minds

A Year of Wonderful (2020 Calendar)

A Year of Wonderful (2020 Calendar)

 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, as you’re reading this post, you experience a sense of ease with life, hope for the future, and excitement that you’re making the world a better place.

At OAASIS, it’s common for us to make “wouldn’t it be wonderful” statements. We do this intentionally. Neuroscience indicates that making statements like this engages language centers found in different areas of the brain, allowing people to relate to themselves and each other with more warmth, compassion, and curiosity. You might want to give it a try. Anything goes with a “wouldn’t it be wonderful” statement, even if it seems impossible (one of my favorites is: wouldn’t it be wonderful if every time someone sneezes, survivors become safer, people become less racist, and every structure that oppresses people becomes more equitable).

As we enter into a new year and new decade, we wanted to share some of the “wouldn’t it be wonderful” statements that OAASIS staff are bringing to our work. We created this 2020 calendar that you can download, print, and share.

Here’s to a wonderful new year and new decade!

Download the calendar now!

Love & Support this Holiday Season

Love & Support this Holiday Season

The holiday season can be loaded with deep emotions.

For some people (whose needs are being met and values are held), the holiday season can be a time of feeling deep delight, joy, connection, cheer, security, and warmth. For some people (whose needs are not being met and values aren’t being held), the holiday season can be a time of feeling sad, scared, overwhelmed, detached, helpless, and fatigued. These are just some of the deep feelings people can experience. What seems to be a common experience is that the holiday season often intensifies what people feel and what people expect they should be feeling.

Survivors of child sexual abuse and other forms of violence and oppression have experienced deep harm, betrayal, and violations of trust and sense of self. The harm, betrayal, and violation occur because a relationship that should have been safe was made unsafe when a person became sexually, emotionally, and/or physically abusive. The harm happened in relationship.

Healing also happens in relationship. And we want to connect you with some love and warm wishes from other survivors.

Want to talk with a supportive advocate?

Want to talk with a supportive advocate?

OAASIS deeply appreciates that you’re reading our website. If you are a survivor, a survivor’s loved one, or an ally, we’d love for you to join us at an upcoming event and join our community to help create a culture that prevent child sexual abuse and supports survivors to live full, healthy, joyful lives.

If you are looking to speak with a trained, supportive advocate, please consider calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. They offer free, confidential support 24/7.

Take Action! Prevent Sexual Violence!

Take Action! Prevent Sexual Violence!

Friends, we have a huge opportunity to help prevent sexual violence. HB 2657 will invest $3 million in dedicated funding source to ensure greater capacity for community-based non-profits, culturally specific, and tribal programs to implement violence prevention education in K-12 and other community settings.

This funding is needed so more young Oregonians can have safe, healthy relationships. It’s up to all of us to make sure Oregon legislators know we want this investment in sexual violence prevention.

Please email your State legislators. You can personalize the message, if you like, but you don’t have to personalize it. If you do, please don’t disclose confidential information because this email will be part of the public record.

Sexual violence is preventable. We all have a role in supporting safe, healthy relationships.

Thank you for supporting sexual violence prevention!

Dear Survivors. Love, Survivors

Dear Survivors. Love, Survivors

 

What was done to you doesn’t define who you are.

You deserve to be seen.

You have value.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve heard from survivors who have felt afraid, angry, isolated, bewildered, anxious, hurt, and heartbroken. Survivors have had a need for safety, dignity, harmony, healing, belonging, inclusion, and security. Survivors’ loved ones have had a need for the well-being of the people they love. People have expressed a need for shared values and a shared reality. People have needed to feel connected.

You are not alone. We want you to be able to remember that—always. And we want you to have easier access to the wisdom of survivors and survivors’ loved ones.

OAASIS created Dear Survivors. Love, Survivors. This is a downloadable, printable compilation of words of support and inspiration for survivors and loved ones, from survivors and loved ones.

We hope you’ll check it out.

And we hope you’ll know—and really feel—that you’re part of a community of wise, brave, strong, inspiring, caring, bold, and transformative people.

Join the Movement!

OAASIS is making an impact not only in the State of Oregon, but nationally! We are honored to collaborate with a growing national movement to end child sex abuse, and are doing our part here in Oregon. We need YOUR help!

If you’d like to join this movement, please provide us with your contact information so that we can keep you informed about what is happening to end child sex abuse in Oregon. We may occasionally call upon you to lend your voice and support when needed. Please stand with us to support survivors and protect children!