My Name is Patti

I have always looked at life through a different lens than most. At least this is what I believed for a very long time. I felt dissimilar, that I did not fit in with those around me, and I was always wearing a façade. I was living as a survivor protégé, not having found a way through my trauma. 

But then I found Jane Doe No More. It started with taking one of their free self-defense classes in 2013, and then reading Donna’s book. It gave me a sense of belonging. I was finally making a shift and becoming a survivor without having met anyone in the organization. 

It wasn’t until the fall of 2016, when I accepted an internship with Jane Doe No More that I had even thought about sharing my story with anyone but those who already knew. In November of 2016, I officially became part of their Survivors Speak Outreach Team. 

I met a group of incredible individuals that mirrored these emotions, and I no longer felt the intense loneliness, or the need to hide what happened to me. I was not to blame. I found a group of survivors who had found their own voices, and who helped me find mine. 

It took a long time to come forward and admit to myself that I am a survivor of both child and adult sexual assault. I finally feel like I have a solid platform to shout, “NO MORE!” The journey of recovery may seem long but there are facets of hope along the way. Jane Doe No More was and is that hope for me, and for so many others. 

I am Patti, and I am a survivor. I THRIVE! 

I now know that I MATTER. 

- Patti Ieraci, Jane Doe No More Survivors Speak Outreach Member