About Fighting For Me
Fighting For Me was founded to meet the nationwide need for sexual abuse aftercare and prevention. We believe free, professional counseling for people affected by sexual abuse is as basic a need as water.
Our Mission
Our mission is to make FREE sexual abuse counseling available to every man, woman, and child affected by sexual abuse (survivors and their loved ones). We’ve begun in Orange County, California.
Our Vision
Our vision is to open counseling and training facilities in Orange County, California (and eventually nationwide). We also plan to help decrease sexual abuse through education, awareness, and healing.
Our Plan
We plan to provide quality care to as many people as possible by hiring licensed therapists who will oversee and train compassionate psychology interns working toward their licenses.
In the Meantime...
As we gain funding and visibility, we are still offering free counseling! We’re finding licensed therapists to volunteer an hour or more a week to serve clients.
Our Needs
Without your support, Fighting for Me is simply a great idea. Please consider making a donation to help us continue to provide hope and healing in the lives of survivors.
Our Story
Meet our Team
Amanda Zarate, President and Founder
Photo credits: Shoubert David + Media
Amanda Zarate is a passionate advocate for sexual abuse survivors. As a survivor herself, she has dedicated her life to helping men, women and children affected by sexual abuse receive access to free professional counseling. Her efforts also include educating people on what sexual abuse is as well as raising awareness that sexual abuse victims are most likely to be hurt by people they know and trust. Amanda is best known for her grand inspirations and her fearless determination which she attributes to her strong Christian faith.
Click here to read her story and motivation behind Fighting For Me.
Sunnie Mills, Secretary
Sarah Ortiz, Treasurer
Photo credits: Shoubert David + Media
Sarah’s journey with Fighting For Me began when her good friend and founder, Amanda Zarate, shared her story and vision for helping victims of sexual abuse. Even though she had no real experience with abuse, Sarah was inspired by Amanda’s passion and determination, and she strongly wanted to get involved. Since joining team Fighting For Me, Sarah has organized several events and planned numerous fundraisers and social activities for all ages. As the treasurer for this organization, she hopes to aid in the gathering of funds to help make Fighting For Me something that can truly help the many victims and their families who have been affected by abuse.
Sarah is an Orange County native; her parents and grandparents were raised here as well. Sarah has been teaching high school Spanish for 15 years and recently finished her master’s degree in Spanish. She has an amazing husband whom she enjoys spending time with by going to concerts, sporting events, or just relaxing at home.
Kiersten Ellis, Creative Director
Kiersten joined the Fighting For Me team as a volunteer almost as soon as she encountered the organization. She is passionate about connecting sexual abuse survivors with professional help and firmly believes this is a cause worth fighting for. Kiersten has since become a board member and currently serves as our Creative Director. She has provided countless ideas to help us connect with the community and further help survivors of sexual abuse.
Her contributions to Fighting For Me range from planning and creating the “Warpaint Campaign,” speaking at fundraising opportunities, and overseeing the big-picture creative vision for Fighting For Me.
When she’s not busy making Fighting For Me better she manages events, weddings, conferences, concerts, and more. She’s also training to obtain her private pilot license in the near future.
Christine Schick, Director of Marketing & Communications
Photo credits: Shoubert David + Media
Christine Schick is passionate about the effective use of words and images, especially for a cause as dear to her heart as Fighting For Me. As a survivor of sexual abuse, she is extremely eager to use her gifts to bring hope and healing to the community. She has professional experience in marketing, social media, graphic design, and web creation. Christine currently serves on the Board of Directors as the Director of Marketing and Communications.
Christine is also passionate about music and can be found writing and performing songs throughout Southern California under the name Christine Alicia. You just may see her at one of our events as she has become one of our go-to musical guests.
Business Structure
Today Fighting For Me has a growing network of volunteer, licensed therapists who are primarily located in the Orange County, California area.
Our volunteer therapists provide free counseling to individuals who request help through fightingforme.org. Potential clients send an email via our contact form or leave a message and a therapist returns their call to schedule their first appointment. All further appointments are scheduled directly through their therapist’s work email or work phone number. Our patient record software is web-based, allowing clients to easily switch to another Fighting For Me therapist for any reason.
In the future we will hire licensed therapists to supervise psychology interns from local universities who will care for Fighting For Me clients. This structure allows us to serve an immeasurably larger base of clients. For example, instead of seeing 8 clients a day, we could potentially see 50.
We also plan to work closely with the criminal justice system so they recognize the importance of immediate access to counseling. The deep wounds and problems caused by sexual abuse do not magically go away with time–they need to be addressed head-on, and usually as soon as possible. But–of course–Fighting For Me services are also available to the public without a court referral.
Furthermore, we anticipate our psychology interns to teach classes to local agencies, non-profits, and church groups to bring in additional revenue for Fighting For Me.
My Story, My Motivation
Founder Amanda Zarate, Age 9
When I was 9 years old my father brought me into his bedroom to tell me that he and my mom were getting divorced. I spent the night in his bed to be comforted, and that was when my worst nightmare began. My dad sexually molested me. I was devastated. As the years went on, the abuse got progressively worse. When I was 11 years old, my dad told the congregation elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses that he was sexually abusing me. He talked to them first, and then I had to talk to them. I sat in a room with 3 grown men who asked me embarrassing questions about my nightmare. I felt relieved and hopeful that finally he would stop hurting me.
He didn’t.
Eventually he raped me. After many meetings with different groups of congregation elders I lost hope. I was too scared to tell my mom what my dad was doing to me and I felt so ashamed and dirty for not saying anything to stop it. A couple of the elders would offer to let me sleep on their couch on the weekends that I was at my dad’s. My dad would drop me off at strange homes where I would sleep on a couch, and then he’d pick me up in the morning. It was very awkward.
When I was 16 I finally got the courage to tell my mother that my father had been sexually abusing me. She did
everything a good mother would do and called the police and Child Protective Services. I no longer had to go to my dad’s on the weekends and he was eventually charged with sexual abuse crimes and went to jail.
I thought my dad’s imprisonment would be the end of my nightmare, but it was just beginning. I was depressed. I hated myself. I hated my body. I felt disgusting and used. In my mind I had no worth. My emotional distress manifested itself as physical ailments. I went to my doctor and thankfully she was intuitive enough to know I wasn’t sick physically, but I was emotionally sick. She gave me a counselor’s card and told me, “Amanda, you deserve to be the woman you were meant to be.” Those words meant more to me than she could have ever known.
I began my journey of healing and quickly found out how expensive it was to see a counselor. I was going to need months or possibly years of counseling to unravel all the hurt and pain I was experiencing. I felt victimized all over again! I was sexually abused and now I had to pay to feel better! I did manage to pay for the counseling I needed but it was not easy.
Unfortunately, my nightmare was not something my family wanted to talk about, so we didn’t. It was as if nothing ever happened. I believe that if I had known earlier that I needed counseling I could have avoided many destructive behaviors I got involved in in an effort to feel better.
I don’t understand many things that went on in my young life. For instance, how could all those grown men who had children themselves knowingly let my dad take me away while they did nothing? Why didn’t the Jehovah Witness elders call the police to help me? How could my father do this to me? I may never understand them, but I find comfort in knowing I am stronger than they are–I choose to use my voice to protect and help people.
Today, I am a Christian who is married to a wonderful man and has 4 beautiful boys. God impressed upon me to use my experience to reach out to others who are confused and broken hearted from being sexually abused. I knew I needed to help other survivors get the healing they need so they can hear when God calls them. This is my work that He has given me to do and I could not be more humbled or more honored. Through my foundation, Fighting For Me, Inc., I want to make it possible for anyone who has been sexually abused to get the counseling they deserve. I want family and friends of abuse victims to get the counseling and healing they need too. To me, FREE sexual abuse counseling is as basic a need as clean water.
May God Bless You and Keep You,
Amanda Zarate