The Rising Center hosts sexual assault documentary viewing that includes local survivor

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - Almost 20 years have passed since Perry Countian Heather Bush was sexually assaulted.

After years of court hearings and therapy, she became a licensed clinical social worker and participated in a documentary produced by KET and KASAP titled “Believe Me: Help and Hope for Sexual Assault Survivors.”

“I’ve had a lot of help, and then I worked with survivors for a while myself, and that showed me that, you know, it doesn’t matter how hard I’ve had it, there’s other people going through the same thing,” Heather Bush said.

Along with The Rising Center, which is one of 13 rape crisis centers in Kentucky, Bush hosted a viewing of the documentary at the Art Station in Hazard.

“I’ve known Heather for a long time now, and sometimes that makes it harder to hear somebody’s story, when you know them personally,” The Rising Center Crisis Counselor Dani Caudill said.

Along with the documentary showing, Bush shared a poem she wrote expressing her survivor story.

“The little girl that was inside of me for many years. She was 11, because that’s when it started. She was always screaming out for help and nobody would help her, and so, I finally set her free, and that’s what the poem is all about,” Heather Bush said.

By publicizing her story, Bush is hoping others will get the courage to speak out too.

“That was the biggest reason why I did the documentary, is so that anyone who needs help can see that this happens here as well,” she said.

The documentary will air on KET throughout the month of May.

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