A letter from Lauren Rohs

Dear Advocates Community,

As some of you may know, Cynthia’s husband died in November. Cynthia has been singlehandedly shouldering the burden of vetting 700 perpetrators while walking the path of losing the love of her life. Cynthia and I have been working with survivors from 22 countries and for the past three months have had a heightened level of suicidal ideation, mental health crisis worldwide, and suicide attempts of several survivors.

For the safety of survivors, and for our own mental health, the therapists we were consulting with advised that we immediately put the Facebook group on pause through January 15, 2024. (In the meantime, third party mental health therapy and resources were and are still available for all members.)

Sheri resigned on December 15, 2023. The three of us mutually agreed that it was best to part ways. Sheri retains the Facebook group and has renamed it to “Exposing Abuse” 2x2’s.” AFTT has a new business page and will be providing education, survivor therapy resources, ongoing funding efforts and communal care in a news-like feed. We are applying for funding and grants and without a diverse board and experienced executive team, no one will look at our mission statement and board bio and give the necessary funding. AFTT’s expansion is based on survivors' need for funding and care.

The work Cynthia has done, as a licensed private investigator, with helping victims and reporting their cases remains and will continue. The perpetrator database is not held by or accessed by any one person but Cynthia Liles. This confidentiality and privacy for survivors is at the core of AFTT’s mission and purpose.

The care, support, and confidentiality I have with survivors will remain the same. All of these values will only be enhanced with the expansion of AFTT.

“I want there to be a place in the world where people can engage in one another’s differences in a way that is redemptive, full of hope and possibility. Not this “In order to love you, I must make you something else”. That’s what domination is all about, that in order to be close to you, I must possess you, remake and recast you.” - Bell Hooks

Survivor care has been a wild array over the past nine months: specialized fundraisers for individual care, inpatient, outpatient, DBT, CBT, EMDR, and equine therapy have been all places that survivors have begun to find solace and help via our third party resources. Those third party services will all continue and expand.

The expansion of Advocates is to also begin to imagine, create, and inspire a community of unconditional love and care. All of us have experienced suffering and betrayal at the hands of the pedophiles, perpetrators, and the Meeting community. It will take all of us to heal the wounds that bind us all. It will take all of us to provide safety and resources for survivors for generations to come.

This is a human rights crisis. We cannot create scarcity of help within a victims centric effort. There is no “us” and “them.” There is no “sheep” versus “wolves.” There are pedophiles, perpetrators and thousands of survivors.

Many survivors have said to me or Cynthia, “I don’t feel comfortable reporting to AFTT because neither of you go to Meetings.” Others have said, “I don’t feel comfortable speaking to family, Friends or Workers.” All of these feelings and experiences are valid given this community has identified its trauma as its culture.

“Trauma decontextualized in a person over time can look like personality. Trauma decontextualized in a family over time can look like family traits. Trauma decontextualized in a people over time can look like culture.” - Resmaa Menakem

This community, whether outside or inside, professing or otherwise, is a culture of traumatized people. It is not a culture of unconditional love.

Dr. Natalie Bolin, DSW, LCSW, is a member of the Meetings and has a Meeting in her home. As a licensed clinician Dr. Bolin adheres to the highest standard and caliber of trauma-informed care and confidentiality. She will not disclose protected information and breach confidentiality.

AFTT chose to hire an Executive Director for many reasons. We wanted survivor care to be at the center of what and who we are. A credentialed individual who can speak the language and also bridge the divides for survivors of all kinds. Advocates' mission is to reach the survivors who are told not to trust the “outside world” and to build trust with survivors who have been utterly betrayed.

Our mission, the hiring of our new Executive Director, diverse board, and experienced executive team will be built on the tenets of unconditional love, privacy, right to care, right to religious freedom, and communal care. Dr. Natalie Bolin embodies these core values and every person that is onboarded will exemplify and model the same. The standard is high for the survivors who we love more than anything.

If any survivor has concern or questions about the future of AFTT, please reach out to us at advocatesforthetruth@gmail.com or my personal number 959-232-0353 and Dr. Bolin and I will be happy to speak with you.

With Love,

Lauren Rohs