The Power of Storytelling

When she graduated from high school, Jolene Loetscher knew she couldn’t be a teacher like her mother, or a farmer like her dad. But she figured she could be a storyteller, and in that way she could teach people and help them grow. She majored in broadcast journalism in college and after graduation, she worked full time for seven years as a reporter and anchor – telling some amazing stories.

She never realized then that there was one story she needed to tell – the story of being raped as a teenager by a trusted family friend. She had buried that story far back in her mind and it didn’t exist until it became impossible to ignore. At that point, she tried to take her own life to stop the darkness that followed her constantly. But she didn’t die. Instead she realized her life had a purpose and that was to tell her story and help those who’d been through a similar trauma realize they are not alone.

In the summer of 2011, Jolene founded Selfspiration, a non-profit organization with a two-pronged mission: to promote legislative action to help survivors and victims of sexual abuse and to hold camps for sexually abused children to help them become survivors.

Watch Jolene tell her story at TEDx Sioux Falls:

“Now I cannot imagine doing anything else,” she observes. “There’s a peace that comes with knowing what I’m supposed to do. It’s so fulfilling, selfishly being able to help myself and helping others at the same time.”

Selfspiration had a big year in 2012. Jolene and a supporter who is a state legislator worked for passage of Senate Bill 68 (SB 68) by the South Dakota legislature. SB 68, which was signed into law July 1, 2012, removed the statute of limitations for nearly all cases of rape.

“A statute of limitations does nothing but protect predators,” she explains. “It puts an arbitrary amount of time on when you should come forward about the crime. Some people don’t deal with sexual abuse their whole lives. So, if abusers pick young victims, they can get away with the abuse. SB 68 gives victims the opportunity to pursue criminal charges without time limits.”

Jolene says she and her supporters are currently looking at other legislation that will help sexual abuse survivors with the legal process and empower them more through the judicial system.

She is also pursuing expansion of the Selfspiration camp, the first of which was held in 2012. The four girls who attended the camp ranged in age from 13 to 17. They were treated to a variety of activities designed to help them feel special, empowered and beautiful, including a limo ride; pizza; visits to an arcade, the Humane Society and an amusement park; mini-make-overs and photos of themselves looking their best. The day-long camp wrapped up with a strength celebration to remind the girls that they have the power to become survivors.

Jolene’s goal is to expand next year’s camp, which already has a waiting list, and eventually have a camp for boys. Her dream is to open Selfspiration camps across the country, in every community, much like the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“The need is so immense,” she explains. “One in four girls and one in seven boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18 years old. Of those, 90 percent know their abusers and 88 percent of the cases will go unreported. When every community has a Selfspiration camp, the stigma that accompanies sexual abuse will be released. The camps will help pull the shame into the light and help put the perpetrators where they should be.”

Jolene credits her Coca-Cola Scholarship with helping her on her journey to bring about change for sexual abuse survivors. “It helped me financially to go to the school I dreamed of, but the real value was that someone saw my potential and my ability to change the world. Knowing that, I felt obligated to live up to what they saw in me.”

“It changed my life and the real support they’ve given me is even more valuable than writing a check. Every time I open a Diet Coke, I smile and think that these are the people who believed in me.”