I Will Restore: A Ministry of Healing to African American Male Survivors of Pre-Pubescent Physical or Sexual Abuse, examines the phenomena of this traumatic experience and how to recovery/heal from the injuries experienced as a result of its occurence. One in six young men experience physical/sexual abuse prior to the age of puberty, regardless of race, creed, culture, or ethnic group. The after effects are devastating. The impact in the life include, traumatic sexualization, a sense of betrayal, a sense of powerlessness, and stigmatization. Additionally, individuals as a result of trauma experience three significant losses, a loss of a sense of time, (since the abuse inserts itself back into the life at various times, through hallucinations, flashbacks, etc), a loss of voice, (since in seeking to communicate to others the horror of the experience and the heroic survival is nearly impossible to tell), and the loss of identity, (since the abused becomes identified by and as the abused).
"I Will Restore," provides a ministry model to help and heal the survivor. It gives specific steps, tools, and techniques to mitigate the effects of this trauma. These steps include the stats and history of abuse, and an understanding of why this trauma is so devastating, and why it is that the societies in general have refused to adequately address the issue of Childhood Sexual Abuse. It helps an individual to understand the after effects of depression, disenchantment, disillusionment, hostility, anger, and/or isolation, fear, anxiety, having poor coping skills, a need to dominate and control situations and others, and the relationship between abuse and poor self concept, extreme feelings of guilt and shame, drug and alcohol abuse, low performance in school, incarcerations, and other effects of this traumatic experience.
Finally, I Will Restore articulates the Five Steps to Healing in the Restoration Ministry Model. These six steps are 1). Blame No One; 2). Feel No Shame: 3). Forgive Every One; 4). Form or Join A Beloved Community; 5). Put Your Life (Spirit-Mind-Body) back together using the 8 A's of Ascension, i.e. Awareness, Acceptance, Assurance, Adoration, Association, Assignment, Accountability, and Assimilation.
