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Twenty-two women survivors of domestic abuse gathered in a coastal paradise in Brooksville on July 11 for a daylong Healing Together retreat hosted by Finding Our Voices, the grassroots Maine nonprofit and sisterhood.
Participants traveled to Sea Winds from as far away as Boston. The women, from all walks of life and ranging in age from 20s to 70s, found a fountain of support and understanding.
“I didn’t realize other women had gone through this,” one said. Other comments included: “I found my voice again,” “I realized the strength of my body,” and “I was told I was worthy — I had forgotten that.”
Lisa Nakamura, a year-round Harpswell resident and certified self-defense coach, joined the artist Liz Cutler and yoga instructor Yael Calhoun as instructors. Cutler oversaw colored-glass mosaics and felting, while Yael led a yoga practice with gentle movement and breathing.
All donated their time. The owners of Sea Winds likewise donated the event space, which includes a restored barn and blueberry fields.
Nakamura led SETpoint’s Foundations of Personal Safety, an introductory, empowerment-based course focused on situational awareness, boundary setting, physical resistance options and survivor support.
“The opportunity to support women across all stages of their healing journey was deeply meaningful,” Nakamura said. “Our SETpoint self-defense and personal safety programs are intentionally designed to be survivor-focused and trauma-informed, and I’m grateful to have worked with Patrisha and the other providers to deliver such a wonderful experience.”
Nakamura is a founder and lead coach at SETpoint, which teaches self-defense with a mission to reduce sexual and physical assault, particularly among targeted and marginalized communities. For more information, go to set-point.org.
Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices, said the group hosts an average of two Healing Together retreats a year. She said they are free or inexpensive because financial abuse is endemic to domestic abuse.
Nakamura said, “We provided survivors the opportunity to gather as a community, learn personal safety skills, stretch and move through walking and gentle yoga, journal and create art through glass mosaics and felting, share food — and, above all, share their stories and realize they are not alone.”
The next Finding Our Voices retreat is planned for September in Wells.
“Intimate partner and domestic abuse happen within our communities, across all demographics,” Nakamura said. “Finding opportunities for survivors, as well as their family members, to heal is incredibly important toward breaking the patterns of abuse and violence.”
For more information about Finding Our Voices, go to findingourvoices.net.
