For decades, Sherrie Allsup couldn’t bring herself to share details of her traumatic childhood in public.
“Ten years ago, I attempted suicide, and after that failed attempt, I decided to take my power back,” Allsup said. “I had been in therapy for years, but I started a new therapy, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) that worked well for me. I was able to move some stuff stuck in my brain. I was able to reprocess them, and I began to live my life and take my power back.”
Allsup, now 61, was sexually abused by her father from when she was around age 6 until she left her Kansas home at 17 to get away from him.
“When I finished my EMDR, that kicked me into telling my story,” Allsup said. “Statistically, only 7 percent of incest survivors go on to tell their story. We’re filled with guilt, shame and humiliation.”
Allsup will recount her story at the Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse & Suicide’s Rise Up for Kids Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. April 27 at Ritz Charles in Carmel. Doors open at 7 a.m. and the event ends at 9 a.m.
She said she shares her story to help others to know they are not alone.
“I have found that people are very responsive to me,” Allsup said. “It doesn’t harm my mental health to tell my story over and over. For some people, it’s very harmful to have to relive their story. As long as people keep inviting me, I’m going to keep going.”
Allsup, who is based in Corpus Christi, Texas, has become an international speaker, but that wasn’t always the plan.
“I gave a testimony at my church, and from there a group asked me to come and educate them in my town of Corpus Christi,” she said. “I thought it was odd because I’m not a professional speaker, and I’m not trained in this. But my husband, who is a brilliant businessman, could see around the corner much better than I could. He said, ‘Sherrie, this is going to get much bigger than you, and I want you to do it right.’”
Her husband suggested she set up a nonprofit called Courage Starts with You with Allsup serving as chief executive officer. She also started speaking to college and high schools.
“For the last six years, I’ve worked with a very seasoned chief of police from Atlanta,” Allsup said. “We built this class together for law enforcement. I do a lot of conferences. I’m extremely blessed that people hear what I have to say, and they want to learn from that and take it to use in their own lives.”
This is the second-largest fundraiser annually for the Carmel-based ICPYAS. This is the 14th annual Rise Up for Kids Breakfast. Admission is free.
“The primary purpose of the event is to create awareness,” said Melissa Peregrin, executive director of the center. “Not all people realize 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. We don’t want it to be a depressing event. We want it to be a story of hope and resilience. There’s something so powerful about a survivor taking their story and using it to create change and do good in the world.”
Peregrin said the goal is to raise $30,000 to support programs in the nine central Indiana counties the nonprofit serves.
For more, visit indianaprevention.org. For more on Allsup, visit sherrieallsup.com.
