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Dear Terri, Last July you introduced me to a wonderfully healing and therapeutic Teddy Bear, Spinoza. While my intellect assured me that this was truly a wondrous tool conceived and created with great spirit, I did not actively utilize Spinoza in my work with victims of violent crime until recently. I would like to share with you some of the magic that I experienced. Brenda is a 19 year old girl who was abducted by four young men in Los Angeles, taken to an abandoned house, sexually assaulted, beaten to unconsciousness and left to die. Victims for Victims was called by a friend of the family who stated that “they will never know what happened to Brenda, because she is catatonic from the shock and cannot speak.” The friend also called to express her concern over the fact that Brenda was suicidal. She was being monitored in intensive care because of this. When I visited her in the hospital her mother was reluctant to let me see her...being extremely protective of do-gooder social work types. I had my Spinoza Bear with me and I think that this is what actually got me through the door. The rest is history. Brenda would not make eye contact with me but did allow me to talk to her through Spinoza. I played the Good Friends tape for her... and when Spinoza sang “ I have you for a friend and you my friend have me, she broke down and started sobbing and hugging the bear. The nurses in attendance at the hospital came to her bedside and wept with her. Her mother was so grateful that she was emotionally able to weep that she sat down next to her daughter and played with the bear as though her child were a baby. It was the most singularly touching experience I have had in my professional involvement with victims of violent crime. I thank you for your efforts in promoting the essence of this little character who can make even the most brutalized person experience safety and warmth and emotions again. Warm regards, |