Resource Topics
Sexual Abuse
What is sexual abuse?
To force undesired sexual acts by one person or another such as rape, molestation, or incest.
Sixty-seven percent of all victims of sexual assault reported to the participating law enforcement agencies were juveniles (under the age of 18); 34% of all victims were under age 12.
SEXUAL ABUSE HOTLINE
1-800-656-HOPE
1-800-656-4673
BY A FAMILY MEMBER
You have been touched by a family member and you don’t understand why. You are hurt, ashamed, and feel it may be your entire fault. You were told you can’t tell anyone of the abuse that has torn your life apart into small pieces. Every time you have been left alone with a family member the abuse has continued as if it would be never-ending. You just want it to stop and go away forever. You want the abuser to love you in the same fashion given to the rest of the family. A part of you know if you tell, things will change, but you feel the change may cause you to lose that family member or be taken away. So you keep quiet and try to accept the abuse.
BY THE TEACHER
You have been told you have to go to school because it’s the law but, no one knows your teacher is breaking one of the biggest felonies of all. Having sex with you and having you keep it a secret. You liked your teacher from the start; you felt smart and you were given more attention then the other students. Now you have found yourself being educated in sexual abuse. You have been told you cannot tell, because it would jeopardize the teacher’s job and the students would ridicule you beyond belief. You need help; you want the abuse to stop.
BY A PERSON OF THE CLOTH
The church is where you are to go to find the Lord and learn how to love one another. But you have found the person that is teaching of the Lord’s word is now laying hands on you with unwanted touch. Everyone believes the abuser is filled with goodness and just being kind to you. But you know that kindness is a sin and you want it to stop.
BY A SEXUAL PREDATOR
You have been told you can’t tell anyone what has happened to you. You are feeling scared and don’t know if anyone will believe you if you tell. You fear the next time the abuse will come your way. The abuse has affected your life in every way forever. You know the abuser has or will abuse others and you must find a way to stop the madness.
BY YOUR COACH
You loved playing the game or cheerleading before the game turned into abuse. Now just that the thought of the coach coming near you gives you the chills. The game is now a reminder of the abuse you are going through. The coach is respected and honored by the other players on the team. But you know the coach’s real play is abuse and that’s not the game you signed up for. You just want the game of abuse to be over.
Tear Bear wants you to know that there is help for you. Please pick up the phone and call now.
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
What is drug abuse? – Drug abuse is the chronic or habitual use of a drug for a non-medical purpose, with the objective of altering states of body and mind for the user.
What is alcohol abuse? – the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholic’s normal personal, family, social, or work life. The chronic alcohol consumption caused by alcoholism can result in psychological and physiological disorders.
Drug and alcohol abuse can not only hurt you but friends and family around you. You may tell yourself over and over again that you will stop today, tomorrow, or maybe next month. But you fail your promise to yourself and others over and over again. You rely on your addiction to take away the pain of low self-esteem, of being powerless, to make you forget your money and/or marriage problems, not having a job or on the job or school problems. Maybe you feel no one really loves you. You take one step forward and your addictions push you back two. No one understands that you don’t want to have the addiction. You don’t want to hurt the people around you. Lying, stealing, and abusing loved ones is not the real you. It’s the addiction. You give more control to it than you have. The pain on the inside comes out more and more with each failure to control it. You have embarrassed your children and abused your spouse or mate.
Now, you don’t want to hear about your actions when your addiction was in process. All you can say is that you are sorry and people should accept that and let it go. As long as you haven’t killed anyone or yourself. What’s the big deal? You have problems you feel you can’t tell anyone or maybe no one will believe or understand you. You can’t change the past, but Tear Bear wants you to know you can change your future.
REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO TEAR BEAR
- Because you are tired of being controlled by your addiction.
- You are ready to let go.
- You need to tell someone who can help.
- You have found yourself to be abusive.
- You want your respect back.
- You don’t want to continue to lose.
- You want control of your hard-earned money.
- The real you wants real love
- It’s time to release the pain
- Tear Bear says “It’s Ok To Tell”
Don’t wait to call the National Hotline number today, right now!
DRUG AND ALCOHOL HOTLINE
(800) 729-6686
Domestic Abuse
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence includes murder, negligent homicide, kidnapping, rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, forcible fondling, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault or intimidation, where the victim to offender relationship is based on marriage, family ties, a romantic relationship or former marriage.
Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other forms of abuse and neglect. Those statistics may not tell the whole story. For every case of elder abuse and neglect that is reported to authorities, experts estimate that there may be as many as five cases that have not been reported
MEN ARE ABUSED TOO
You may be the man of the house, but your mate or spouse is abusing you. Your pride won’t let you seek the help you need to stop the abuse. You may feel your manhood may be at stake. So you make excuses for the scratches or bruises on your face and or body. Your abuser has belittled, judge or criticize you in front of others. Your abuser is becoming out of control. You love your abuser but not the abuse. You may think you will feel less than a man if you speak out and it may get you ridiculed by other men. Besides you may think if you call the police while the abuse is happening, stereotyping may come into play; the man always takes the blame. What you don’t realize is you are not the only one and without taking control of your own well-being, your life may be at stake.
WOMEN IN ABUSE
Your spouse or mate has hit, threaten, and publicly humiliated you. You have been isolated from friends and family, creating a sense of powerlessness, fear, and dependency. The abuse has made a strong impact on your self-esteem and self-worth. This has now damaged the way you think, leaving you to wonder will it ever end. Your loved ones have noticed the difference in your behavior but, their hands are tied without you want their help. There is not a day that goes past you are not scared, that you may take your last breath at the hands of your abuser. You have to free yourself before it’s too late.
TEAR BEAR WANTS YOU TO KNOW THERE IS HELP!
PICK UP THE PHONE NOW CALL
THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
1-800-799-7233
You Are Not Alone
| Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. |
Resources
There are many organizations that offer 24/7 outreach and support along with local advocates. This list has a few resources that can help.
Call 911
If you are in immediate danger please call 911 right away. Do not wait, do not take a chance.
Child Help Hotline
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse. Serving the U.S. and Canada, the hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who—through interpreters—provide assistance in over 170 languages. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. All calls are confidential.
1-800-422-4453
Spousal Abuse
What is Spousal Abuse?
Sexual, emotional, psychological, financial, physical, and verbal – when they are directed exclusively or mostly at the abuser’s spouse, mate, girlfriend, or boyfriend.
Startling statics, such as 1 in 4 women are likely to abused by a partner in their lifetime and that as many as 324,000 pregnant women are victims of domestic violence each year, are revealed.
Tear Bear says “It’s OK TO TELL” I have a Love Abuser.
When you first met things were so good, that special someone made you laugh, listened to every word you said. Some days it felt like your heart would just bust if you didn’t get to see the one that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. Just the thought of them brought a smile to your face as your heart would beat fast. You thought you had someone who really cared and loved you. You just knew that you were special because out of all the people in the world, your love abuser picked you. Oh, now that you look back, there were sure signs of the nightmare to come. But, you made excuses and followed your heart. You married or did the common law thing. Now you are beating yourself up as well as getting beat by the great so call love of your life. They made sure you were isolated before their true colors started to show. He/she told you that they wanted you all to themselves or maybe they told you that your friends and family were using you and you needed to leave them alone. You became distant just to keep the peace, but your heart aches for the communication, the touch, and fun you once had with them. Your mind told you it’s best to leave well enough alone because they seem to blame your love abuser for the change with you. Besides, you can’t let anyone know how you got the bruises that came from you, love the abuser. Makeup has become your best friend and you have found comfort in wearing a long sleeve shirt on the hottest day. The physical pain can’t compare to the emotional stress that now consumes your very soul. You pray your abuser will one day return to the person you fell in love with. If only you could just hang in there your love abuser will see just how much you really love them. You don’t want to accept the advice many have given you to leave because they just don’t understand your love abuser is under a lot of stress, with the job, or money, not to mention the foul-ups your love abuser blames you for. No one understands your love abuser as you do. Your love abuser has told you things that they have never told anyone but you. A heartfelt story of how they have been dealt a bad hand in life. They have told you how hard it is to open up to anyone but you. Maybe about the abuse they have gone through, or how they hate themselves for not being able to control their temper. How no one but you really loves them and that’s why they get so angry at the thought of you wanting to leave them after an argument or once you realized their love is nothing more than abuse. Now you want out. You can no longer take the heartbreaking pain of abuse. You need help, but you believe your loved ones no longer care and won’t help you. Along with that comes the fear of leaving. Your love abuser has told you many times “they won’t live without you or let you live without them. They have even threatened your kids/or pets. They may have told you they will take everything.
But, what you have to realize is that your love abuser has already taken everything. Your self-worth, pride, joy of living and eventually they may just take your life.
Tear Bear wants you to know there is help for you, pick up the phone call now
THE SPOUSAL ABUSE HOTLINE
1-800-228-7395
Elderly Abuse
What is Elderly Abuse?
The mistreatment of an elderly person by someone known or unknown to the senior includes financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, or embezzlement or filing forged documents
Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, or other forms of abuse and neglect. Those statistics may not tell the whole story. For every case of elder abuse and neglect that is reported to authorities, experts estimate that there may be as many as five cases that have not been reported.
ABUSED AT THE HANDS OF MY CHILD
You would have never dreamed the beautiful child you gave birth to or maybe adopted is now your worse nightmare. You find it so hard to tell anyone about the way you are being treated. You love your child and you want the best for them. You would have died to keep them from being in harm’s way. But, now they are slowly killing you and they have little or no respect at all for you as a parent. Mental abuse is far more painful than physical mistreatment. Your heart is broken and the rest of your life may be at risk.
ABUSED AT THE HANDS OF OTHERS
You have been on this earth a very long time and now the years have caught up with you. You are tired, weak, and can no longer care for yourself. A family member has decided you need more attention than they can give you. So now you are in a nursing home or have a daily in-home caregiver. It would be a blessing if it wasn’t for the fact you are being beaten and neglected by your care provider. The nursing home on the outside has a good reputation. But you know much different, they have stolen from you, left you in your own waste for hours at a time. You have even been beaten; yelled at, and they have even kept your medication for themselves.
GIVING LESS THAN CARE
Your in-home care provider is mean to you. You are not fed properly; things are taken from your home, they have lied to you and they now have control of your money. You feel alone, neglected, and very scared for your own well-being.
It is said “with age comes wisdom” Tear Bear wants you to make a very wise decision that may save your life. Pick up the phone and call the
NATIONAL HOTLINE NUMBER FOR ELDERLY ABUSE
1-800-677-1116
On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide
Over 10 million abused animals die every year in the US
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Approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse.
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