Saving Shelly

Saving Shelly

Greetings,

Saving Shelly is a petition to help a sixteen year old girl who has recently come out to her parents about being homosexual, and they have made it clear that it is unacceptable in their household. She is basically held captive in her own home, a stranger to the entire household. She is being harassed, threatened, belittled, and abused by all family members. The parents have been emotionally abusing her self esteem for about a year. They have not accepted her, have had family meetings with her present on how much they "hate" her and what she has brought upon the family, have told her she is a complete disappointment and has ruined their family. She is forced to live in isolation and made to feel like a deviant and an outcast in her own home. She is totally ignored and the only communication from her family members is periodic negative comments about what a disgrace she is. This is based solely on her parents' religious beliefs about gays and lesbians. In this case, religion takes priority over their child's well-being. They lower her self esteem on a daily basis. She ultimately has no has no rights as a human being. The feeling of love and support is NOT present. She is not allowed to use cellular device, house phone, computer, play water polo anymore for her high school team, and has been pulled out of school several times to educate herself, to prevent her from having contact with people who might provide her with support. Her social life is non-existent. Just recently, there have been reports of physical abuse (i.e. Slamming head into wall, bruising on face, wrists, and arms, thrown on floor aggressively, and cuts on inside of mouth). The school she attends has been notified, as well as the Sheriffs Department and Child Protective Services. It appears as though these agencies are missing one big piece to this picture, Shelly. Despite Shelly's efforts to contact these agencies in cry for help and running away in attempts to escape, she has been forced to return home without a voice. She must live the next two years of her life under her parents' abusive hand. She is petrified of living in her house and is fearful for her life. She continues to reach out to those she trusts, begging for intervention. She wishes to pursue emancipation; however, her parents have made this impossible, by monitoring her 24 hours a day. The family members take shifts and watch her sleep, as well as barricaded all exits with heavy objects. While showering, both mom and dad have barged into the bathroom to keep a watchful eye. This makes her extremely uncomfortable. She is also searched on a daily basis and recently had her socks and underwear taken away. Her parents are determined to change her identity and stated they will do whatever it takes until she complies. Shelly is a smart, athletic, and kind-hearted individual who deserves the best in life and all the love that can be given.

[Your name]