Now, that said, please understand that there is some HEAVY stuff on these pages. If you don't want to have to wade through stuff you don't want to deal with in order to find what you need or are interested in, I've established this table:
| Survivor Stuff | Religion Stuff |
| Tolerance Stuff | Back to the General Page |
When I started these web pages several years ago, I was in a very bad place physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I'd had some unpleasant experiences, to say the least, and started out attempting to find web pages by people with similar experiences. In addition, I have spent large amounts of time volunteering in shelters and various agencies, and I've seen the need for pages such as I'm about to direct you to. Over the years I have known WAY TOO MANY women who've been assaulted in one form or another. I have known WAY TOO MANY men (yes, you read that right) who've been assaulted in one way or another. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. Furthermore, this doesn't have to be. I'm a FIRM believer that making people aware of issues helps us work on them. Silence breeds the worst when it comes to these issues. All of this led me to form my abuse and recovery resource page. It's still in the compilation stage right now, but I'm adding things in as I get link requests. Please let me know if you find any of these numbers or URLs not working, and I will remove it from the list. I am trying to make it more than just a compilation of lists. There are so many lists out there, and you can find so many things by just exploring. I am trying to keep on top of the most useful sites I've found. This is a serious issue that I feel strongly about, and I intend to do my best to keep the best information I can find at the forefront. The only way we lose the battle to stop so much abuse and violence is if we stop trying.
If you need more extensive resources than what I've compiled here, I've discovered that some lovely person has set up an abuse resources page, including a search engine, called Escaping Hades, so if you don't find what you're looking for on my pages, you hopefully can on this one. From my pages, you can also find a list of safety tips as well as what to do in the event that you are raped or assaulted. In addition, I'm in the process of setting up a sort of 'suggested reading' list for those who wish to read more on the various subjects that fall within this realm. I have also recently taken the list of links from Sanctuaryites and have given them their own page. I also have a separate page set aside for men .And, you can also find out a little about why I've decided to make this a part of my page.
In the interim, I also became interested in studying the various religions of the world. Religion is another issue that is near and dear to my heart. Yes, I am a 27-yr-old, candle-burning, yoga-practicing witch. I make it a point to keep myself well-read, not only in areas of my particular religion, but in areas of other religions as well. My current favorites are Henri Nouwen and Thich Nhat Hanh. I have a general religion page set up if you'd like to visit that. Other links remain for your perusal. Check it out! You can also find your way to my list of links to pages that contain information about various religions (mine and otherwise.) I've recently added a list of the best Pagan-oriented web pages I've found. And, now new to this site, I've added a pagan reading list.
There used to be a wonderful website up called Hatewatch. The main page was a fadein/fadeout of names of people who had been killed by hate crimes and violence. Unfortunately the kind people who ran that site have decided, for their own reasons, that it was not necessary anymore. However, there IS a memorial site put up for Matthew Shepard. You may also find a memorial site here I hope that you will visit them. I have also found a site dedicated to religious tolerance. This site, also, is a nice resource. And, of course, one could not forget W.A.R.D., or Witches Against Religious Discrimination. My dear heart, if you think religious discrimination is a thing of the past, please go visit The Burning Times
And there you have it. The story of how these pages came about. I've moved the information here from the opening page, not because I consider any of these issues diminished in importance, but to set the information apart and give the the entire site in general a little more organization.
If you like, you can return to the opening pages, or you can check out my links pages.