During the month of March, participants wear white ribbons and wristbands to raise awareness, and funds for Vera House programs and services that have to do with domestic and sexual abuse help.

Its part of the 26th annual White Ribbon Campaign and one of the people helping organize the campaign is a survivor herself.

Sitting at one of the many white tables during the White Ribbon Campaign’s breakfast was Marrisa Saunders- the survivor. Gazing at her outwardly, you see a woman full of strength: laughing before taking a joyful bite of her eggs and bacon, conversing with others at the table with ease, and gazing lovingly at others.

This mature woman partaking in the event today is not the woman she was before.

“Everything that has happened to this point has made me who I am today,” she disclosed.

She revealed her faith gave her the will to live even when things seemed bleak.

“The reason I wasn't dead,” she disclosed, “was because of God.”

She was abused first as a young child and then again as a teenager.

“I was sex trafficked for a year between the age of 15-16,” she said.

Her abuser befriended her initially but drew the reigns in harder with time trying to keep her under his control.

“He made me call my mom to tell her I was OK,” she said.

It wasn’t long before things escalated to the breaking point.

“Basically (he) kept me drugged and used me and I escaped through a window,” she recalled.

Then at seventeen years old, she met another man who claimed to care for her but then put his hands on her.

“For me it was normal to not be treated well by men,” she said. “If I wasn’t being treated badly I felt I wasn’t being loved.”

She also went through a failed marriage, where the man that vowed to protect her till death do they part threatened to kill her and her daughter. It opened her eyes to the cold, harsh reality and she somehow found the courage to seek help.

Even recently, after seeking help, someone sexually abused her. It’s not so apparent, yet the scars remain.

“You figure out a way to use them,” she said. “To do work you are passionate about and help others.”

Currently, she is a board member at Vera House, a center advocating for women who are going through similar things. She has a message for those who need to hear it the most

“You didn't do anything wrong. No matter the situation, you still didn't do anything wrong and you are precious and you are valuable and your body is precious and your body is valuable, “ she said, “Use it as way to do better, be better and know better.”

If you or someone else is facing sexual or domestic abuse, visit https://www.thehotline.org/ or call 911 for help.