meet kelli
Her abuse began at only 3 years of age and for the next decade Kelli was subject to extreme sexual trauma by a stepfather who ruled by fear. In her formative years, Kelli was denied toys, music and normal scholastic education. As a young teenager she was able to escape madness, but without survival skills, life for her became another type of survival where she needed to learn new skills to be able to fight to become the person that she knew she was destined to be. Her motivation: “I’m not going to let them win.”And with that inner sense of resolve Kelli found her power, purpose and potential and now wants to come alongside others who have had to same experience to aid them in their journey.
Unfortunately, Kelli’s story is not unusual. Nearly 44% of adult women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in their lifetimes. An estimated 81.3% of victims report their first assault occurred prior to age 25.*
As many trauma victims know, to mentally survive during the abuse, one can “disassociate” and go to a fantasy place in their minds in order to have a feeling of safety in the midst of torture. For Kelli, she imagined being in an enchanted garden. That was her fictional safe place and is exactly the reason for creating Enchanted Garden Shop as a healing hub for women in this community.
