At Healing Acres Never Again, we take pride in being problem solvers who are not afraid to take risks. We believe that with boldness, creativity and heart, there is nothing we can’t accomplish. But above all, our strength lies in teamwork. Each and every one of us has the capability to contribute no matter what their experience or background. With this strength behind us, just imagine what we can achieve together.​Why HANA?
 
​Hi everyone. I'm Charlene. I started Healing Acres Never Again (we call it HANA for short) to help others like me who have been scarred by sexual trauma. I was a victim of incest by my father as a very young child that lasted into my teens when I finally left home. As a child I did not understand what was happening to me. I was told that I was a liar and that my nightmares had no meaning. I learned very quickly that asking for help only led to punishment, isolation, and heartbreak. I learned to survive knowing that there was nobody to trust, or that I could count on. I developed a hatred for myself and wondered what was wrong with me until I was able to look at the truth and begin my lifelong journey of healing. As a child I had a Great Aunt Vella who did not live close to me but came to visit a few times a year. She brought flowers to plant with me, and one day she brought a tree. We had a wonderful time digging in the dirt and making the yard beautiful. She told me that anytime that I needed to feel loved, to run outside and talk to God by the tree. She made me promise her that I would. Aunt Vella died not long after that, and I laid beside, and eventually underneath our tree every day until I left home at the age of seventeen. Life was never easy for me. I kept finding myself in terrifying, life-threatening situations, but I learned to find a quiet place under a tree wherever I was. Sometimes it just had to be my mind returning to me and Aunt Vella's tree to journal, think, or talk to God and find my balance, truth, and will to go on. Finding my tree and learning to create a safe, beautiful place to heal saved me and gave me strength that I never dreamt I had. It was the first step in a lifelong journey of healing and learning to love and forgive myself and others. Knowing that Aunt Vella loved me, and that she created a place for me under the tree to talk to God after she was gone gave me the strength to never give up. It gave me the strength to not let negativity and despair take over my life. It also gave me the ability to face and uncover layers of pain that eventually carved out in me, confidence, love for myself and others, and the ability to discover the real me. Healing Acres Never Again is about learning to find your tree and create a nonjudgmental, safe, caring environment to uncover truths and heal from painful traumas that found their way of paralyzing your life with fear and negativity, wrongfully defining who you are. Healing Acres Never Again stands for healing your past, knowing yourself, never returning to the things that you have overcome (but if you do, knowing how to get yourself back on track), and always knowing that you are loved, not judged, and not alone. Knowing that my Aunt Vella loved me gave me the courage to go on. It gave me the strength to believe that God could love me, and that maybe I was created for a purpose, even if I was all alone. I have seen many people in my lifetime not make it. They gave up through suicide, drugs, or unsafe behavior because they did not think that anyone cared about them, and they did not understand how to care about themselves. We were not created to manage on our own. When I look back on my life, there were key things and people who changed the course of my life and revealed silver linings to me. HANA cannot save anyone, just like my Aunt Vella could not save me. She gave me a place (our tree), and the ability to know that I was loved and not alone. I created HANA because I understand the crippling, overwhelming pain that sexual trauma places in our hearts and minds. The trauma creates lies that we believe about ourselves and the world around us. It creates isolation and loneliness that encompasses our minds and squelches our voices. I created HANA because I want you to know that you are not alone, and that you are loved. You can journey through the pain and discover who you really are, not what bad experiences or people have told you that you are, even if it was your parents, spouse, or important others. This is your life, and it is meant to be cherished and lived to the fullest! With the help of many talented people, I have created programs through HANA that I based on my own journey of healing. It entails things that people taught me, experiences that I learned from, and things that I wish I had when I was walking through my darkest times, as well as things that I still do to stay positive and healthy. We have an incredibly wonderful group of nonjudgmental, talented, loving people that are here to help. HANA's goal is to help survivors learn how to create a nonjudgmental, safe, caring environment to heal and thrive in. If you have experienced sexual trauma, don't keep it inside. Reach out, knowing that you are supported and cared about in starting your journey of healing. The name Healing Acres pertains to the tree that my Aunt Vella planted with me to give me a place to be and feel safe and loved after she died. From this one tree, a forest was born through HANA. Healing Acres represents all of the safe places and healing roots (trees and forests) that have been and will continue to be planted and grow in the hearts and minds of people who have faced and walked through their sexual traumas to discover healing, life, forgiveness, and the freedom to know, love, and be themselves. Never Again stands for never returning to the unbelief, or destructive patterns that encompassed the past. Welcome to HANA!