State of SNAP

SNAP
April 5, 2018

http://www.snapnetwork.org/

Dear SNAP Network Family,

This summer at our annual SNAP Conference, we will be celebrating our 30th year of helping survivors, protecting children and raising awareness in the community. SNAP has changed the world with your efforts as well as working with other organizations such as Bishop Accountability and Center for Constitutional Rights.

Notable spectacular SNAP actions brought us onto the world stage. Barbara Blaine, Barb Dorris and David Clohessy called out the church hierarchy in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican and proclaimed the truth, reminiscent of Martin Luther. We made a formal complaint to the International Criminal Court. We have testified in front of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Committee on Torture. We have stood on street corners, in front of churches and government buildings. We have spent hours helping other survivors. SNAP has been there because you have been there.

We are a network of survivors and supporters helping survivors. We exist because of the compassion and caring we share with each other. We also know that by helping others, we help ourselves. We are not alone.

SNAP arose from a support group started by our founder, Barbara Blaine. It grew and thrived. David Clohessy expanded our reach with powerful media events and press releases that exposed the depth and widespread nature of the abuse. Newspapers and television noticed. Barb Dorris excelled in giving all newcomers a compassionate welcome and propelled the organizational engine of SNAP with dedication.

Late in 2016 and early 2017, our founders, David Clohessy and Barbara Blaine, left SNAP. Uncertainty and doubt surfaced because of the departure. With the stable leadership of Barb Dorris, we weathered that uncertainty and carried on facing new challenges.

One challenge we were not able to overcome: I regret to announce that Barb Dorris has resigned. She has worked diligently for sixteen years reaching out to help survivors by giving comfort to those in need. For many of us, she was our first contact with SNAP. She will undoubtedly be missed by all. Please see below a tribute to Barb, as her contribution to SNAP, and to all of us, cannot be contained in a single paragraph.

Barb’s leaving, like the departure of our founders, will cause some uncertainty and unease; feelings that are reasonable and understandable. Our mission remains, our leaders remain, our website remains. We will continue the mission of SNAP and carry forward the pioneering work of Barbara, David and Barb.

While leadership may change, the strength of the organization lies with its’ local leaders, members, and supporters. Barb is leaving leadership, she is not leaving SNAP. There is work to be done and we must focus on the future.

We have added two new Board members, Lisa Kendzior and Paul Petersen who will join Melanie Sakoda, Becky Ianni and myself. We embrace our shared commitment to building SNAP network, helping local SNAP leaders and supporting survivors.

We have a strong foundation for that future with over 25,000 survivors and supporters within the SNAP network. We have thirty-one support groups throughout the United States. Our credibility and integrity has been forged over thirty years which enables us to speak with an authoritative voice. While we may not be the parents of the #MeToo movement, we have been involved and connected in many cases of organizational abuse such as Sandusky, Boy Scouts, schools, sports teams, gymnasts. We are proud of our movement work and being mid-wives to other movements. We are all part of one human rights movement.

We are actively moving forward in expanding our social media presence. Due to the efforts of Melanie Sakoda, we have over 11,000 visitors to our Facebook page every week and almost 4,000 twitter followers. We have hopes to expand social media projects this coming year.

Our summer SNAP Conference in Chicago in July (please attend) continues to gain new speakers and workshops. (Announcements coming soon.) Becky Ianni leads the committee who will guide the work to make the conference a success.

SNAP has established firm financial health; we have a six-month reserve in our budget! Our April Appeal for the Child Abuse Awareness Month was sent out today. Look for it. Lisa Kendzior leads a fundraising committee looking at innovative ways to raise money so that we may expand the work of supporting survivors, protecting children and raising community awareness.

Our local SNAP leaders are now connected by a team collaboration tool, Slack, which enables each leader to contact each other, collaborate in work groups, get resources quickly, easily (photos, graphics, bylaws, etc.). There is a commitment to give SNAP leaders more resources as well as making SNAP leadership more transparent and participatory. In fact, we will be adding more Board members this year.

We have a professional office staff that supports our network of survivors and the backbone of the organization. The Board of Directors of SNAP will provide leadership as we venture forth under new conditions. Please be assured that the SNAP mission has not changed, our local leadership has not changed. We are not a cork in the ocean to be pushed around by outside forces or large institutions.

There is work to be done. We have powerful tools: our peer network of tens of thousands of survivors and the power of truth. We rely on your continued willingness to take up the battle, join arms with fellow ‘Snappers’,’ and fight for our future.

My mantra is this: What happened to me should not happen to another child. Join me in that grand journey forward to change the future.

Warmly,

Tim Lennon

President

SNAP Board of Directors

Tens of thousands of survivors in the SNAP network bid Farwell to Barbara Dorris

Our first contact with Barbara begins with a phone call or greeting. We are met with compassion, understanding and concern. She treated all of us with respect and patience. She helped us make our first steps forward. She saved lives.

Thinking of her brings tears to all of our eyes as we know that without her and the SNAP family, we would be lost in depression, fear, anxiety and nightmares. We know that she accompanied our journey into the light and we knew she was there to accompany us as we journeyed forward.

She was a guide forward for thousands. She stepped forward when necessary, but Barbara was always the engine who stoked the boilers of the SNAP organization. She was the one who made sure survivors were contacted, that the mailings were done. While we can see SNAP as a mighty organization, we also understand that Barbara was shoveling the coal to insure the engine of SNAP continued down the track.

Her compassion and connection to survivors endeared her to all. She listened to horrific stories and provided support. She did not jump to solutions but rather gave each survivor respect by hearing their story. We each have our private memory of Barbara extending her hand in support.

When we were faced with the exit of our founders, Barbara was there to provide a steady hand and confident guidance and stepped into the position of Executive Director. SNAP moved forward with grace during a turbulent time due to her efforts. She stabilized a ship in unsteady seas and brought us to a safe port.

Here we stand, a strong and solid organization with our Captain leaving SNAP. We are all saddened by this turn of events. Our steady hand who has guided us through perilous seas is leaving.

We can mourn her leaving in personal ways because she has touched us all with her gifts. We can mourn her leaving as the director of our organization as she has done a wonderful job in leading our common work.

We shall miss her dearly. We shall miss her compassion. We shall miss her leadership. We shall miss her humor.

We honor Barbara Dorris. She leaves the organization, but she does not leave our hearts.

Board of Directors

Tim Lennon, President

Melanie Jula Sakoda, Secretary

Becky Ianni, Treasurer

Lisa Kendzior, Member

Paul Petersen, Member