TRIGGER WARNING
CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT/TRAFFIKING

“Texas law requires ANYONE with knowledge of suspected child abuse or neglect to report it to the appropriate authorities. This mandatory reporting applies to all individuals and is not limited to teachers or health care professionals.”

This info comes from SMU.EDU

This video is based of of a REAL client this woman had. The questions are, in your state, as a cosmetologist, A) are you a mandated reporter (at least 17 states you are so check them laws….if you even suspect abuse or even neglect you MUST report it or lose your job and your licene)? B) If not should you be? (My answer is a resounding YEEEEESSSS!!!!
As a cosmetologist I can’t even tell you the level of trust and comfort that fall over you when you sit in my chair. I have seen it and even experienced it myself as a client in a shop. But with great levels of trust and comfort come even greater responsibilities .

My TOP priority will ALWAYS be the children (no matter their age) no mater who they are!!! And to be honest it’s worse if you’re my family and friends. I have ZERO sympathy for the adults in this site. ESPECIALLY if I know they grow up in a similar situation. We’re supposed to do BETTER than the generation before us. Not have them crying and wondering daily how we turned out like this.

I don’t think I have ever really just put my whole story out there except maybe twice (once in a women’s home and once at a church function….both times it was BRIEF) so a lot of this may be either shocking or new to most of you. Many of you know me well enough to already know the levels of abuse I’ve walked out of, but some of this will been new to even you. I am being called to discuss the truths of my youth more and more daily.

So, I grew up in NOTHING BUT trauma and chaos all my life. I don’t have but a handful of decent memories from my youth (and as I get older I am realizing those are not even actual memories but images I remember from pictures I saw of “good times” we had.) I was literally born into trauma when my 14 year old mother gave birth to me and her mother bailed on her for months. I have been abused in literally every possible way there is to abuse someone many many times. I have been trafficked, I have been groomed, I have been molested by close friends and supposed “family” (never by a parent that I know of, hust people we called family but weren’t blood related). I have put myself in abusive situations (I was a stripper and worked in clubs and spent MANY years on the streets because it was “better than the alternative” multiple failed marriages I went to in oder to find what I had never had….stability and peace). I have been abandoned (even as a child) multiple times, and rejected. I know what being the outcast misfit is all about.

I do NOT say this for sympathy, so PLEASE do NOT leave any. I say this for encouragement and clarity. I say it to hopefully reach even just one that has been there one day. I say it so someone knows they are not alone in their struggles. I say this to give strength to those who are FORCED BY LAW to make the PAINFULLY DIFFICULT decision to report abuse. It should never come as retaliation or anger. It should only come from a place of LOTS of prayer and and peace. I have reported friends and family members and have felt awful, yes, but never a day goes by that I have ever regretted it! I have had to report abuse/neglect legally several times and it’s NEVER been easy, fun, or enjoyable for me. But it has ALWAYS been the best thing for the child involved. INCLUDING YOUR OWN!! I have not fought for custody of my teenager in years for this very reason!! Do I WANT her with me? Duh!!! Of COURSE I do!!! Do I honestly think she’ll be better off with me? On so many levels YES YES YES!!! But guess what? She’s happy and healthy where she is (with her dad and grandparents) and is not being abused so even tho I WANT her with ME…. it’s best for her mental health not to be ripped from her school and dad (who isn’t in the best of health these days). Does it kill me a little inside daily? Damn straight! Does it hurt my heart every time I miss something or bring her back? Always has! But I spent years on my face in prayer over this and am ok with the decision I’ve made.
I say this so everyone who chooses to stay in my life is WELL AWARE that I do NOT play when it comes to children. They have no choice. They have no voice. They have no one but the ones who are willing to do what NO ONE else will do. To stand up for the voiceless. I strive to be the person I NEVER once had in my life. The one who will SEE the abuse and neglect and take action instead of sending them to a Dr or hospital that is only going to shove meds down a kid’s throat and call them “mentally ill” so you can have an easier life.

If you made it all the way through, thank you. This was one of the harder posts I’ve made in a while. But it was time. I love you all so much and am ALWAYS hear if you need to reach out!! I have been there! You are NOT alone!