Voices Of The Movement: Meet Laura

What happens when you stop letting a system define who you are? For a long time, Laura felt powerless, written off by structures that saw her only as a victim of sexual violence. Yearning for a community where she could heal and feel seen, she brought her idea to Connecting for Good’s Open Ideas Night, aka Collaboration Station.

Laura uncovered the raw power of community, creativity and peer-led healing, building Survivor Sanctuary from the ground up. In this edition, Laura takes us inside her journey of reclaiming her agency after trauma. Her story is a beautiful reminder that you don’t need a perfect plan or formal qualifications to change your city you just have to care. It’s a powerful rallying cry for anyone in Coventry who has ever been told their voice doesn't matter.

Step Up

I stepped up because I was yearning for community. After my own experiences of sexual violence, I wanted to feel seen, understood and less alone.

For a long time, other people got to decide who I was. I was defined by the things that had happened to me, by systems that saw me as a victim and by experiences that left me feeling powerless. 

The turning point came when I experienced the power of my peers and creativity as tools for healing. Through connecting with other survivors, I realised I wasn't alone and that there was a gap once formal support ended. Survivor Sanctuary started with a simple ask  "Would anyone like to join a WhatsApp group?" What followed wasn't just a support group, but a community. It taught me that when people come together around shared experiences, they don't just heal; they discover their power and their ability to create change.

Speak Out

One of the hardest truths about Coventry is that too many people have been made to believe they have no power.

I see it in survivors who have been told they are damaged. I see it in disabled people who are spoken about rather than seen as leaders. I see it in communities experiencing poverty where decisions are made for people instead of with them. Yet every day I meet people with incredible ideas, skills and determination.

The problem isn't a lack of talent, care or leadership in our city. The problem is that too many people have been disconnected from each other and from the power they already hold. When people are brought together, supported to build relationships and given opportunities to lead, extraordinary things can happen.

Shape Coventry

I'm doing this for the people who have been told their voice doesn't matter.

For survivors who have been written off. For people who feel unseen, unheard or left behind. For those who have spent years believing they have to carry life's hardest experiences alone.

I want to help create a city where people can find their people, discover their strengths and realise they have something valuable to contribute.

A city where belonging comes before barriers, where communities support one another and where more people have the confidence and opportunity to step into leadership and shape the changes they want to see.

Call To Action

You don't need qualifications or a perfect plan. You just need to care. Every change starts with a conversation and some of the most powerful people I've met are ordinary people who simply decided to step forward and get involved.

If you've ever looked at something in your community and thought, "Someone should do something about that," maybe that someone is you.

Come and join us. There is a place for you here.

Laura

Could that "someone" be you?

You don’t need formal qualifications or a perfect plan to change your city, you just have to care. Laura's story proves that extraordinary things happen when we build relationships instead of barriers.

If there is a change you want to see in Coventry, or if you want to learn more about the incredible community she built at Survivor Sanctuary, come and find your people.

• Learn more about Survivor Sanctuary by clicking here

• Learn more about Connecting For Good, book in for a 1-1

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