‘Shop and donate with purpose.’ New nonprofit focuses on helping women heal from sexual assault and abuse 

The UVR Thrift Shoppe in Rexburg. | Courtesy United Voices Rising REXBURG — A local organization is working on helping women heal from sexual assault and abuse by raising money through a thrift store and, in turn, providing services. Stacy Lauritzen is the founder and CEO of United Voices Rising Inc., a new nonprofit in Rexburg. The “UVR Thrift Shoppe,” which opened in April, is part of it and is located at 155 East 2nd North. It’s one of the ways they fund women’s mental health treatments, as well as helping the community with affordable household resources.  On Facebook, it says, “Shop and donate with purpose. Join a community that believes in healing, hope, and second chances — one voice at a time.”  Lauritzen explained the reasoning behind creating the nonprofit.  “I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. A few years ago, I had a lot of memories flood back to me, and I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. I found a therapist and have been working with her,” Lauritzen said. “While I was doing treatments with my therapist, something in the treatment plan was not covered by my insurance. I’m like, ‘How in the world can they afford this?’” This was at the grand opening at the UVR Thrift Shoppe earlier this year. | Courtesy United Voices Rising She wanted to do something about it and to fill that need for women. Lauritzen said she has done psychotherapy and therapeutic ketamine treatments. She wrote online that she “was able to confront and process traumatic memories, paving the way for meaningful healing and renewal.” According to the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, “Ketamine therapy is a treatment approach that uses low doses of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic medication, to manage various mental health conditions, such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” Click here to read more.  The thrift store is full of donated items from various businesses and people. The money from customers’ purchases helps fund women’s mental health treatments. Currently, there are funds to start treatments for one woman.  “It is ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP). So you have a nurse who medically watches and takes care of you and then therapists who are trained in that specific treatment plan,” Lauritzen said. “It’s about $6,000 per woman. It is six weeks.” She said it includes preparation, treatments, integration, psychotherapy, medical and psych intake assessments, and aftercare.  The goal is to be able to help one local woman a month. Women who are interested in receiving this type of treatment can apply online in August through the nonprofit’s website. Then, Lauritzen said her board, which consists of four women and one man, will decide who will receive it.   “The treatment is not for everyone, and that’s okay,” she said.  It worked for her, and she knows other women need it too.  Stacy Lauritzen, founder and CEO of United Voices Rising. | Courtesy United Voices Rising “It allowed me to open up and walk through those deep, dark memories without shutting down,” Lauritzen said. “To have my therapist there and walk me through a lot of that, somebody I trusted, that was instrumental in me functioning as a wife, a mom, a business owner again.” Lauritzen said United Voices Rising’s mission is to ensure that every woman has the opportunity to access the care and support she needs to heal.  “To surviving women: there is hope. To our community: through our thrift store, you’re helping other women, and you are helping people here in our community,” she added.The post ‘Shop and donate with purpose.’ New nonprofit focuses on helping women heal from sexual assault and abuse  appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com