About Wanda Meade

As founder and creator of Finding Voice, Wanda has found a wonderful opportunity to combine her education and experience as a counselor, trainer, and teacher with her love of photography. This project has become her passion and she hopes to raise the collective consciousness about sexual abuse and to call communities to action for prevention. Wanda and her husband, Rex, reside in Upstate South Carolina – a place they have called home since 1972.

Pediatricians being called on to intervene in childhood toxic stress!

The following is part of an abstract from Pediatrics 2013 entitled “The Science of Early Life Toxic Stress for Pediatric Practice and Advocacy”

Young children who experience toxic stress are at high risk for a number of health outcomes in adulthood, including cardiovascular disease, cancers, asthma, and depression.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently called […]

By |2023-04-29T13:08:47-05:00April 30th, 2014|Prevention|0 Comments

Darkness to Light an excellent resource!

I recently had an opportunity to visit with President and CEO Jolie Logan and Prevention Program Manager Liz Boeschen of Darkness to Light (D2L) in Charleston, SC.  Their mission “is to empower people to prevent child sexual abuse.   With affiliates in all 50 U.S. states and 16 additional countries, Darkness to Light provides individuals, organizations, […]

By |2014-04-24T15:19:54-05:00April 24th, 2014|Advocacy|0 Comments

FREE mandated reporter training offered by GHS Children’s Advocacy and USC Children’s Law Center.

This is a great opportunity!  Free and open to the public!  Please spread the word!

Greenville Hospital System Children’s Advocacy and The  USC Children’s Law Center are excited to offer to the community a FREE training on Wednesday April 16, 2014, “Mandated Reporters:  Your Legal Duty to Speak for an Abused Child”, held at Greenville Memorial Hospital […]

By |2014-03-28T15:28:01-05:00March 28th, 2014|Upcoming Event|0 Comments

USC Upstate Child Advocacy Conference hits a home run!

Last Friday, I participated in USC Upstate’s Child Advocacy Center’s fifth annual conference…. “A Brighter Future….Ending Child Abuse through Advocacy and Education.”  The conference hosted 400 professionals in all areas of child protective services including legal, treatment, forensics, child advocacy, education and community services from not only across South Carolina but from across the region.  […]

By |2023-04-29T13:08:49-05:00March 27th, 2014|Recent Event|0 Comments

80% of sexual abuse occurs in one-on-one situations

According to Darkness to Light, more than 80% of sexual abuse cases occur in one adult/one child situations.

A call to action:  Reduce the risk by minimizing one-on-one adult/child situations.  Abusers work to gain access building both your trust and the trust of your children.  Abusers are usually known to you rather than strangers.  […]

By |2014-03-18T10:20:24-05:00March 18th, 2014|Uncategorized|0 Comments

No Secrets!

One of the story panels from the Finding Voice project tells a survivor story with the line, “The word ‘secret’ makes my blood run cold.”  Abusers frequently make secret keeping one of the ways they ensnare a child in the abuse.  “This is our little secret.”  “I have brought you this little surprise treat now […]

By |2014-03-12T12:34:33-05:00March 12th, 2014|Tips to Stop Abuse|0 Comments

Child Advocacy Centers

The movement for child advocacy centers began in 1985 with “Bud” Cramer who was, at that time, a district attorney in Huntsville, Alabama.  Cramer wanted to create a better system for working with abused children.  This was the beginning of the Advocacy Center movement that is now a national network.

The Julie Valentine Center is part […]

By |2023-04-29T13:08:49-05:00March 5th, 2014|Advocacy|0 Comments

Welcome to the Finding Voice webpage!

When I started this project more than a year ago, I did not imagine a website, let alone a blog, but here we are!  I want to make the posts informative.  My primary goal with the project is two-fold…..raising the community’s awareness about sexual abuse and providing ways for you to work to prevent abuse […]

By |2023-04-29T13:08:51-05:00March 5th, 2014|Latest News|0 Comments