I recently found an app that I wish I had my whole life. As a survivor of mental, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, I have been in many terrifying situations as a child where I didn’t know what to do or who I could turn to. In addition, because of extreme sexual abuse and severe trauma I experienced later in my life, I struggled with paranoia after escaping my abuser. He had sent men after me when I fled the state. They would call me on unknown numbers and tell me what I was wearing in that exact moment and what they were going to do to me sexually.

For years, I have been scared for my life and have had nonstop nightmares. Eventually, I began to “fight back” in my nightmares with the knowledge that I was learning in my healing process. I know now what I can do to protect myself. It’s strange that my body actually implements the same knowledge, techniques, strategies, tools, resources, etc. that I now have, to fight off and escape the terrible situations I find myself in when dreaming. It’s actually incredible, and I’m learning how to use this as part of my healing process, which I can share later.

One of the things that I started imagining as a way to protect myself before I actually found it was how I could be prepared for an unexpected situation – Example: If I were to get kidnapped or followed – what I could do to be able to call 911, (or someone for help who will answer), quickly & discretely (without having to talk to anyone on the phone in case I have to call secretly). There’s also been many nightmares where I desperately needed a phone to record what was happening to at least get evidence of the man’s face or what was being done so that I didn’t have to go through a frustrating court case with no way of proving what had been done to me.

There are so many more scenarios where I feel like I could have something MORE to actually help me feel like I have the resources I need to get to safety when I feel like I’m in danger. Now this all might sound a little dramatic to you, but this is me sharing something very vulnerable to me. I hope that you respect it. And unfortunately, I know there’s a lot of people who can relate to me. Abuse changes something inside you. The feeling that I never want to feel again, is unsafe.

After my life nearly ended in 2018, I decided to stand back up and fight again… because my life is valuable and I have worth. Through all the abuse, I forgot about that completely. It was through a miracle that I escaped my abuser and found within me the purpose to being alive. All I care to do anymore is personally grow and help other people along the way. Ever since I made that decision, I choose every single day to be more equipped to protect myself and to live life fully. I’ve studied full-time for 2 years the psychology behind it all, I train twice a week with kick-boxing, self-defense, taekwondo, etc., I’ve been training to rescue victims of sex-trafficking, firearms training, vehicle evasion training, etc.

I want to be able to protect MYSELF without having to always rely on someone else to keep me safe. This is something that is extremely important to me now, when before I thought my mom & everyone else was just silly & over-exaggerating when they talked about stories on the news and always said “you never know!”. I always thought, ‘yeah but that wouldn’t happen to me. that rarely happens!’ Through my personal experiences, and probably from so many of your own personal experiences, I’m sure we can agree that many of those things we thought were over-exaggerated…. actually aren’t.

The app I’m recommending is called “BOND”. It is a personal safety app that provides 24/7 personal security agents, available in seconds. With this app, I schedule virtual security check ins to confirm that I am safe (Ex: I text my personal security agent – “I’m walking to my car through a dark parking lot and theres a man standing outside his car. Can you check on me in 10 min?”. They then reply “absolutely!” and give me the time that they will call me at). If they check in and I don’t respond, then they immediately send help straight to my location. I set this up through the real-time location updates and alerts on the app to make sure me and/or my loved ones are okay.

If I ever need someone to come pick me up to take me to a safe place, I can schedule a ride with a 24/7 car service through the app’s team. You can also turn on video monitoring and instantly record yourself/surroundings until you feel safe. FaceTime is available with 24/7 security agents, who can help you get to a safe location or who can even help deter unwanted individuals. 911 can also be dialed in the app straight from a button, as well as a siren. There are additional services you can access like roadside assistance, telemedicine, and even scheduling a physical bodyguard.

I thought this would for sure be an extremely expensive app/service. But then I found out it was only $5/month!!!! I was shocked and honestly got a little emotional. This was an answer to a prayer I’ve had for a long time. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to have something like this that I could rely on when I felt unsafe. And even more so now

My life is very different now, and for the first time ever, I actually feel safe. I never thought a feeling like that could feel UNREAL. I am so grateful someone finally created an app to help us have what we need in unexpected situations. This app is something I would honestly recommend to every single person, especially to women and parents with children. 2020 has proven to us that the world is getting even crazier by the minute. Which is why I love the Bond app’s mission statement :

To reimagine what it means to feel safe – for you, your loved ones, and for everyone. Because we believe that every life should be lived fully, confidently, and without fear. We use innovation and technology to watch over and connect us, each to one another, in a broad community of support.

I hope this was helpful for you or one of your loved ones! You are not alone.

#personalsafetyforall #collegesafety #campussafety #staysafe