EPISODE SHOW NOTES

Episode 43: Breaking the Cycle of Abuse ft. Vanity Dawson

Episode 43: Breaking the Cycle of Abuse featuring Vanity Dawson

For most of her life, Vanity Dawson faced what felt like a never-ending cycle of abuse. Her mother was cruel and her stepfather began molesting her at the age of ten. In an effort to protect her siblings Vanity endured his abuse for years but by the time she was 14 she could no longer survive at home. The only way to save herself, she decided, was to run away, and she did, multiple times.

She soon wound up in foster care and when she aged out of the system she found herself in yet another abusive household where she was nearly killed. It wasn’t until Vanity enlisted in the Military that she began to see a different future for herself. She realized her purpose in helping others and became a victim advocate for others who have been sexually assaulted. 

Today Vanity is the founder of Take My Hand LLC and Delicate Flowers Inc, where she works to guide foster care youth, help women heal from trauma, and train people on sexual assault prevention and bystander intervention. In this episode, she joins Ronit to talk about the dark moments of her childhood and young adulthood that helped make her the resilient woman and fearless mother she is today. 

As the founder of Delicate Flowers Inc and Take My Hand LLC, Vanity Dawson is on a lifelong mission to guide foster care youth and help women heal from trauma, and empower them to tap into their infinite God-given potential. She is a Victim Advocate, Coach, Author, and devout believer of Christ whose resilience, compassion, and dedication have all earned her the reputation as a service-centered leader.

Enduring adversity early on in her life in the fire of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, and maneuvering through the foster care system, Vanity truly understands what it’s like to feel helpless and even hopeless. However, through her faith in God and unwavering perseverance, she overcame the darkness and stepped into the light.

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ABOUT YOUR HOST

I’m a writer, a teacher, a native New Yorker, and I love hearing about people’s lives. When I think back to my elementary school days at PS 20 in Flushing, Queens whenever we began social studies or a history lesson I wasn’t that interested in learning about battles, topography, or politics. What I wanted to know was how people lived: What their families were like, how they adapted to their circumstances, what they ate, how they celebrated, how they felt.
 
Sociology became my major at Binghamton University and in my life so far I’ve been an actress, a salesperson, a Zoo Keeper’s Aid, a volunteer animal trainer, an ELL teacher, a mother, and a wife. I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had, all of which led me to create this podcast which is one of the most rewarding projects I’ve undertaken. I couldn’t ask for a better job than having in-depth conversations with survivors, thought leaders, authors, social justice warriors, and people who believe that we are all connected and then getting to share their stories, insight, and vulnerability with listeners.
 
I’m so glad you’ve landed on this page. I hope you find stories here which resonate with you and that you’ll tune in every week. 
 
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ATEC (Episode 10) (ATEC Pin 3)