Page 48 - April 2015 Life In Naples Magazine

CHANGED LIFE,

ACHANGING LIVES
Antoinette’s Story for Child Abuse Prevention Month

by Karen T. Bartlett

I f you see her walking her golden retriever, Athena, along Third
Street South,you might admire her beautiful smile or her confident
posture. You might notice her gentle demeanor with her pet, and
if you engage her in conversation, you’d be struck by her intelligent,
articulate manner of speech. You might be surprised to learn that
this mature young woman is just 21 years old, and you’d be even
more surprised to learn that she grew up in the most horrendous of
situations. Antoinette is a survivor of child abuse: sexual, physical
and emotional, from the time she was a toddler. But she has refused
to let her history define her.

“I can’t go back and change what happened to me, she says, but I
can control what I do from here.”

Today she speaks to audiences large and small about the abuse she
suffered; how she kept her terrible secret until age 16, when Child
Protection Team at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County
started her on the road to healing and CAC’s advocates helped put
her abuser (and the abuser of several other children) behind bars.
She talks about the choice she made to not become a statistic,
and her commitment to help other children begin their own
journeys to healing.

As she speaks, candidly and without a hint of s e l f -
pity, individuals and groups are moved to tears,
and inspired to learn what they can do to
help prevent child abuse and support the
work of agencies like the CAC.

“I grew up in a single-parent
household with two younger siblings.
We never lived in the same place for
more than a few months. Because of
multiple incidents of abuse I was in
and out of the foster care system. I lost
family members to drug overdoses,
and others to incarceration. My family
never quite knew how to express their
love for me, nor did they know how
to make me feel valued. I was often
told that I’d follow in my relatives’

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN T. BARTLETT