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**BEARING WITNESS***Because loving someone through trauma can be hard, too.*
We talk about the importance of supporting survivors of sexual violence. About believing them, listening to them, and standing beside them.
But we don't talk nearly enough about what it's like to be the person standing beside them.
The partner who feels helpless watching someone they love struggle.
The parent who carries grief, anger, or guilt.
The friend who wants desperately to say the right thing but doesn't know what that is.
The loved one who is trying to be strong for someone else while quietly struggling themselves.
**Supporting a survivor can be hard. And acknowledging that doesn't mean you love them any less.**
You might feel angry about what happened. Frightened about the future. Overwhelmed by the changes in your relationship. Unsure how to help. Or simply exhausted from trying to hold everything together.
Those feelings deserve somewhere to go, too.
**Bearing Witness** is a community gathering for partners, family members, friends, and loved ones of survivors of sexual violence.
This isn't a space where you have to pretend you have it all figured out.
It's a place to connect with others who understand what it's like to love someone who has experienced trauma.
To talk about your own experiences.
To acknowledge the complicated emotions that can come with supporting someone you love.
And to receive support yourself, without placing the responsibility for your feelings on the survivor.
Because you matter, too.
**SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2026**
**10:00–11:30 AM**
Phoenix Rising Therapy Services
505 Thurston St., Winston-Salem, NC
**FREE | IN PERSON**
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, snacks, and treats provided.
Registration recommended. Walk-ins welcome as space allows.
Facilitated by Becky Hellwig, LCSW, LCAS.
This is a facilitated community support gathering, not psychotherapy. Participants are asked to respect survivors' privacy and avoid sharing identifying details or trauma histories that are not their own.
**You can love someone deeply and still need support of your own.**
You don't have to carry everything alone, either.
*Bearing Witness is part of Beyond Silence: Survivor Solidarity. Community Connection. Collective Change.*
*A community initiative of Phoenix Rising Therapy Services.*
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505 Thurtson Street, Winston-Salem, NC, United States, North Carolina 27103, 505 Thurston St, Winston-Salem, NC 27103-1609, United States, Winston Salem
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