March 24, 2011

Greetings!

MaleSurvivor brought its national Dare to Dream program to Berkeley, California, last evening, Wednesday, March 23, and it was well received by all in attendance.

The program, developed in response to "The Oprah Winfrey" show highlighting male sexual abuse, focused on bringing a message of hope and healing, while offering support for abused survivors.

Co-facilitated by local Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Bill Burmester (M.A., M.F.T.) and internationally recognized MaleSurvivor spokesperson, Dr. Howard Fradkin, the program featured clips from Emmy-nominated "The Oprah Winfrey Show" segments, a facilitated panel discussion, and an opportunity to learn about local resources and support groups.

MaleSurvivor President and Dare to Dream panelist, Jorge Ramirez, PhD, stated "that as much as he was thrilled to be on the panel of survivors there to share the Dream, and the possibility of hope and healing, he was still shocked to hear from the local therapist community that there is only one therapist running men's survivor healing groups in San Francisco, and only two running them in the east SF Bay area.

One young man inquired about outreach to men of color, and I had to share the sad statistic that there are barely 50 groups that we know of in the entire United States, so we haven't even reached a critical mass for addressing the problem as a whole, much less for specific subpopulations."

The next Dare to Dream program will take place on April 6, in Salt Lake City, at the Episcopal Church Center of Utah.

For more information about male sexual victimization, or to learn more about MaleSurvivor's Dare to Dream program, visit:

http://www.malesurvivor.org/dare-to-dream.html