Founder of Interwoven Ministries International, Cheryl Trotman.
Women who have experienced various types of abuse and, by extension their children who have been affected by it, now have the opportunity to press the reset button and restart their lives, free from their abusers.
Thanks to founder of Interwoven Ministries International Cheryl Trotman, these women who have suffered whilst in abusive relationships now have access to counselling services, support systems and even educational opportunities, which will give them the skills needed to rebuild their lives.
Trotman, who has a track record of hands-on intervention and rehabilitation of women and youth, says that whilst Interwoven Ministries adds to the community of agencies which cater to women and their families in times of crisis, the focus is a bit different.
“Interwoven Ministries caters to women who are or were abused. It’s not like any other. I know some may say ‘Well, there are a lot of other women organisations out there’, but what we do is to try to empower women through education and training and we work with them so they can get back their lives. It is more than just being able to go to a group setting. You are getting the tools into these women’s hands, so that they are able to function again and reintegrate into society with dignity and respect,” Trotman explained.
Relaying how she was inspired to start Interwoven Ministries, Trotman revealed that she has had first-hand knowledge and experience of abuse in her personal relationship as a married woman, but as an ordained minister holding a revered position, she had nowhere and no one to turn to. After breaking free of that relationship, which she said featured different forms of abuse, though not physical, she decided to reach out to assist others.
“There was really no one to turn to or assist and you are going to find that there are a lot of women in certain positions, in certain jobs, who go through it because there is no real way that persons can get help. So they go through it on their own and they struggle. So having walked it myself and realised that there was no-one there to assist me per se, then I felt that it was time to start this because I would be able to help these women understand the various types of abuse that they may face,” she added.
Centre for Crisis Counselling and Management
It was in August 2017 that Trotman launched the Centre for Crisis Counselling and Management as part of her Ministry and that Centre will partner with other agencies and Institutions to provide short courses for women, in addition to the counselling, training and mentorship already provided for them in the rehabilitation process. As a Victim Support Counsellor herself, Trotman also provides direct intervention for women and will assist those who need to be connected to the right people and places for certain legal procedures.
Going forward in 2019 she says she wants to reach more young women and girls, especially at the level of the schools, exposing them to sessions
which will help them to identify abuse in all its forms and therefore potentially avoid such situations.
“Going forward, the whole mission is to see women free from violence. So we are going to have a wide educational programme publicly, because we want women to see and understand the red flags and not only to see them, but to act on them. I have already started speaking to school children in secondary schools – from third form and up – on what is domestic abuse, because they are living in these situations but they don’t know it is wrong because it’s a norm for them. So we are going to continue those workshops with the school children in the third years and then we have a number of sessions and workshops coming up for women in the abused situation and even those who are not being abused, because as friends, workmates, relatives, they must also be able to recognise the signs and know that there is positive help out here,” the founder of Interwoven Ministries stated.
Trotman meanwhile says it is key for women to recognise their worth and to also understand that what they have been through is not their fault. As such, she stresses the need to build up the women she encounters so they can better deal with the emotional and psychological after effects. Thus, she expounds on the value of having a good support system.
“As we look around, we see how rampant domestic violence is and we have all the clichés about “Break the Silence”, but it is not easy for a woman who is abused to speak out. However, I want to encourage women who find themselves in an abusive relationship or a violent relationship, that there is help out there. There are people out there who will come alongside them, not only to talk to them, but to work with them, to help them out of that abusive situation so that they can move past being ashamed and know that they are not on their own. Women have a right to live and be all that they can be, even in a relationship. They should not be abused. They have a voice and they should use it,” Trotman asserted.