Crack! Crack! The pine wood board, splintered by my hand and by pure emotion, fell in two pieces from the chairs it was braced upon to the floor. The whole room felt the peak of energy which had resulted in me being able to break a board (with a negative thought written upon it that had haunted me for a long time).  

The adult me has healed a lot thus far in my journey, but the little girl in me still needs to do more healing. That day during the Empowerment Services workshop, survivors broke wooden boards with their bare hands. As our guest instructor  

taught us, anyone can break a board. A woman doesn't need martial arts training  

in order to do so. What she does need, however, is everyone in the room to chant something positive (the words vary) and to feel the energy of the chant in her heart before striking the board.  

I came to Empowerment Services having already done a lot of healing. What Empowerment has done for me is to give me a community in which to become friends with other survivors, which is very healing. Support groups for survivors don't really afford the opportunity of friendship, since support groups are focused on sharing struggles and gaining others' understanding of your struggles.  

Friendships are based upon positive feelings and positive experiences. I have fun with survivors in Empowerment, and because we have fun, we are happy to see each other, and friendships form. 

For me, Empowerment Services has brought forward some things I need to work  

on further through my individual healing.  I have also learned a lot about many different creative modes of expression, from dance expression to improv to poetry to dance poetry. One of the best parts of Empowerment Services is the affirming atmosphere we build together. For example, at one Empowerment workshop, someone told me about a problem she was having at work during a break time. Because we are affirming of one another, I told her that no one deserved to be treated as she was being treated. The next time I saw her, she thanked me for encouraging her, and told me she was currently in the process of interviewing for  

a new job. Because of the affirming atmosphere we build at our workshops, I was able to say affirming words to her, and she was able to start to change her own situation. I am here because I want to help other survivors change their situations in positive ways, and I am staying here because Empowerment enables me to do so. 

For more information on Empowerment Services, visit the Empowerment page on the Crisis Center's website.