Amy’s Story:
Like so many others, I am 1 of 4 North American women that have / will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
My most recent assault happened in 2016 in a mixed dorm room at the end of a year abroad in Australia. After the assault, it felt as though a lot of choices were stripped from me in a very short amount of time. I was alone in another country away from my family and friends having to deal with the police, hospitals, counsellors, victim shaming, and people's opinions (whether they were wanted and not). The whole ordeal was very disorienting.
In the last two weeks before leaving I ended up meeting a lot of other survivors. I was in a new hostel, an all-girls room this time and six of the nine girls were survivors. I was shocked! I felt like the universe was trying to tell me something.
When I got home I found it very hard to move forward. I tried to seek out resources but discovered they often came with waitlists, were overly pricey or not the right fit for me. I was not alone - other survivors I began to speak with had experienced the same thing.
In fact, the most important part of my healing journey at that time was talking to these other survivors; they understood the magnitude of what I had experienced without judgement.
I wanted to continue meeting members of this community and finding safe spaces where I could talk about my experiences and listen to others without judgement, and ultimately gain support and learn about resources to eliminate the feeling of powerlessness.
This is where the idea of Soldiers of Creation community was born.
HOW WE STARTED:
Soldiers of Creation (SOC) was founded and created by Amy in 2016.
SOC started off as a vintage shop with the idea of a portion of profits being donated to other services and programs that supported the healing for sexual assault survivors. Amy wanted to be judicious about who received these funds, and through her research, she saw a gap in affordable, customizable, and inclusive services that were available for survivors.
This is when SOC shifted gears and became a community born out of necessity.
WHAT WE OFFER:
We provide free access to an online resource directory featuring different services and programs geared towards alternative methods of healing, as we realize everyone's path to healing is unique. Some of the types of therapy options include but are not limited to Art Therapy, Drama Therapy, Trauma-informed Therapy, Cognitive Therapy and Mind and Body Work. The directory offers options including virtual sessions, sliding scale payments, and free trials in order to provide an accessible array of choices.
We offer workshops that are “bite-sized samples” of therapy options that are available to this community at an affordable price. Our community members have the opportunity to both test out these alternative methods of healing, as well as sample “talk therapy” during the discussion portion of our workshops, which is led by our active listeners who are social workers, therapists, psychologists, and psychotherapists.
Postcard Series: We work with local and international creatives to help amplify the voices of our community. The artwork is designed to reflect written pieces authored by members of the community. The goal of the Postcard Series is to educate others by creating positive dialogue.
WHO WE ARE:
SOC is run by a diverse team of activists made up of both survivors and allies. We provide a safe, gender-inclusive space for both sexual assault survivors and their allies.
OUR ETHOS:
Creating a safe space for the community to thrive.
Creating space for positive dialogue.
We do NOT tolerate any kind of discriminatory behaviour. We are gender-inclusive, meaning we must hold space for everyone, and we cannot claim to be inclusive while excluding minorities who already struggle to find a place of belonging.
