You Are Not Alone, Joanna's Story (Blog-a-thon, Post 4)

Joanna is the lovely lady who inspired me to do this blog-a-thon. She hosted a blog-a-thon to raise funds for the Angela Shelton Foundation about a month ago. I was online with her during a few hours of her efforts to raise money for the foundation, and I was so moved by her passion and dedication to the cause that I decided I might as well do what I could to reach out to survivors as well. Here's a little bit about Joanna:

Joanna Doane is 27 years old, and lives in the Phoenix-metro area of Arizona. She was diagnosed in 2003 with post-traumatic stress disorder and with a dissociative disorder – both disorders being a result of abuse in her early childhood. Today Joanna is working towards obtaining a bachelors degree in social work through Arizona State University. While her family and friends are her main priority, standing up for the rights of children, person(s) with mental illnesses, and for victims of abuse and violent crimes also means a lot to her. Since 2004 she’s worked to building Help4Trauma.org, a website that offers coping techniques, resources, and hope to survivors of trauma. She is also co-founder and project coordinator of an second online resource for survivors, the Survivor Archives Project.

Joanna puts a lot of energy, when time allows, into the advocacy for survivors of violence. She is currently a national manager for the Army of Angels, a grassroots movement of survivors and humanitarians who work in a united effort to spread the word about the epidemic of abuse that exists in our country and to encourage all survivors to break the silence, heal themselves, and live joyfully. She believes that education and awareness are essential in solving these problems in society. She continually works through her various projects and with outside organizations in an effort to prove that people can make a difference when they work together to combat issues within their communities — be it on a local, state, or national level.

Stay tuned for my story, and for the stories of many others who have found hope and help online...

Watch the live UStream broadcast of this blog-a-thon by clicking here.