Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1583

Tonight's special guest is Lyra Jubb from Fort Bragg, California, a survivor of child abuse and domestic violence. "As a child I recall suffering much abuse .. mental, emotional, sexual, physical, and psychological in nature .. from all the people I though were protecting me," she says. "I learned very early that it was necessary to make other people happy if I wanted to have a life." Lyra was sexually abused at 6 by her mother's friend and Lyra told her mom when she was 12. But the story she shared fell on deaf ears. Later she found herself in an abusive marriage. "In 2011, my oldest son and I suffered from domestic violence." She called the police and CPS. "They urged me to go to the local homeless shelter." As often happens their abuser eventually pleaded for Lyda and the children to stay at a hotel across from his room and work. "In great desperation, I accepted the room and his apology." But the local DCFS/CPS took her children away, citing 'failure to protect'. She began fighting to get them back. "For the past six years I have complied with reunification services, only to find that my children were placed with the abuser and then removed repeatedly due to continued abuse. "There is a complete lack of services and advocates for victims of domestic violence and abusive behavior is rewarded," she complains. "Due to the discrimination and lack of advocacy I have received over this period, I founded The Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families to advocate for parents." See the web site: www.Coalition4Protection.com.