A non-profit organization which helps survivors of childhood sexual abuse heal from the trauma they experienced is gearing up for its annual fundraiser.
The Gatehouse will be raising funds at its sixth annual Healing The Voice Within art gala event being held Oct. 3 at the Liberty Grand.
The charitable organization provides a safe environment for those impacted by childhood sexual abuse, as well as peer support programs and information for survivors.
Maria Barcelos, executive director at The Gatehouse, says financial support is crucial to keep programs and services operating at their southern Etobicoke location.
“We need support, we need help, and we need funding,” Barcelos said. “We need people to support this because a lot of survivors never got the help they needed as children. What people see is the adult, they don’t see the inner child that’s wounded and suffering and experiencing full emotional pain from childhood sexual abuse.”
While receiving minimal government funds from the city, Barcelos said The Gatehouse — in operation since 1998 — survives on generous donations from individuals and corporations, as well as sponsorships of events like the art gala.
According to Barcelos, more than 300 people attended the gala last year. She hopes more people attend next month.
This year’s event will be hosted by CTV News anchor Michelle Dube. The ticketed event includes food and drinks as well as live painting, music and entertainment.
Barcelos said getting the word out about the programs the non-profit provides can help victims turn the corner and begin the healing process and hopefully thrive as adults.
“Most of the time, survivors are suffering in silence until they read something … or see a video about survivors, and they get activated or triggered by that,” she said.
While no doctor’s referral is needed at The Gatehouse, victims will have to go through an intake process to access its services and programs.
“Last year, we had almost 300 survivors come forward, reach out for support, and we’re seeing more people come forward,” Barcelos said.
More than 60 additional survivors contacted The Gatehouse looking for support this summer, she added, following the shocking revelations from Andrea Skinner, the daughter of celebrated Canadian author Alice Munro, who revealed years of child sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Gerry Fremlin, in an essay in the Toronto Star.
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Fremlin pleaded guilty to indecent assault in a Goderich, Ont., court in March 2005. It wasn’t made public until Skinner wrote about it.
Fremlin died in April 2013 while Munro passed away in May at the age of 92.
Barcelos noted that, about 95% of the time, the perpetrators of sexual abuse are not strangers but someone the child already knows.
While many interviews with abuse survivors are conducted at the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre run by the Toronto Police, Barcelos said one or two cases a year are handled at The Gatehouse by investigators who are offered space to conduct interviews.