our history
Voices of Change 2018 (VOC18) was founded by Nicole Moehring and her daughter Maci Lynch. The passion and drive behind starting this organization came after Maci and her brother Evan, who was diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome and Autism, were both unfortunate victims of sexual abuse and assault.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Violence against adults and children with disabilities statistics, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled peers. They are 3.7 times more likely than non-disabled peers to be victims of some form of violence, 3.6 times more likely to be victims of physical violence and 2.9 times more likely to be victims of sexual violence.
Often, children with disabilities do not realize they are being abused. Many times, the perpetrator is the child’s primary caregiver, a family member or someone the family or child knows. Perpetrators often threaten children so they are afraid to tell anyone. Allowing the abuse to continue and as a result, the child more than likely will suffer from extensive trauma.
Lack of preventative education, resources, supports for providers, along with the stigma of not talking about body safety, abuse, body autonomy, etc., put children with disabilities at an increased risk of being abused.
Our organization is unique because it is not disability specific such as Autism Speaks, The Upside of Downs or United Cerebral Palsy. We serve individuals with disabilities under the age of 21 with cognitive, intellectual and physical disabilities, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or gender identity. Our services also extend to their families and guardians.
Our founder, Nicole Moehring, never realized how vulnerable her son was to abuse because no one talks about the statistics and there is very little preventive education. Nicole believes with proper education; she and her family would have been better prepared and able to help her son.
Nicole felt that, because Evan has a disability, his rights were taken away, he was discriminated against, and his voice wasn’t heard. She felt very alone in her quest for justice and finding support and resources for his road to recovery.
Children with disabilities, who have been victims of abuse/assault, need a voice, advocates, preventive education, access to support systems and recovery.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Violence against adults and children with disabilities statistics, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled peers. They are 3.7 times more likely than non-disabled peers to be victims of some form of violence, 3.6 times more likely to be victims of physical violence and 2.9 times more likely to be victims of sexual violence.
Often, children with disabilities do not realize they are being abused. Many times, the perpetrator is the child’s primary caregiver, a family member or someone the family or child knows. Perpetrators often threaten children so they are afraid to tell anyone. Allowing the abuse to continue and as a result, the child more than likely will suffer from extensive trauma.
Lack of preventative education, resources, supports for providers, along with the stigma of not talking about body safety, abuse, body autonomy, etc., put children with disabilities at an increased risk of being abused.
Our organization is unique because it is not disability specific such as Autism Speaks, The Upside of Downs or United Cerebral Palsy. We serve individuals with disabilities under the age of 21 with cognitive, intellectual and physical disabilities, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or gender identity. Our services also extend to their families and guardians.
Our founder, Nicole Moehring, never realized how vulnerable her son was to abuse because no one talks about the statistics and there is very little preventive education. Nicole believes with proper education; she and her family would have been better prepared and able to help her son.
Nicole felt that, because Evan has a disability, his rights were taken away, he was discriminated against, and his voice wasn’t heard. She felt very alone in her quest for justice and finding support and resources for his road to recovery.
Children with disabilities, who have been victims of abuse/assault, need a voice, advocates, preventive education, access to support systems and recovery.
our mission, vision and philosophy
Voices of Change 2018 is a disability-led national organization piloting our groundbreaking programs in Ohio
Reducing the risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation for children with disabilities.
Our Vision
By sharing our lived experiences and through collaborations with law enforcement, mental health and medical professionals and other similar organizations, we are building a foundation of advocacy, awareness, resources and support for children with disabilities and their families.
Our Philosophy
We believe the way to reduce the risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation for children with disabilities begins in the following ways:
ADVOCATE • COLLABORATE • EDUCATE • EMPOWER • JUSTICE • RESPECT
ADVOCATE: We believe in creating awareness of the global epidemic of children with disabilities being abused.
COLLABORATE: We believe through local, state and national organizations, we will form partnerships to strengthen our mission and vision.
EDUCATE: We believe educating children with disabilities, their families and the community is essential to the prevention of abuse.
EMPOWER: We believe through education; children will develop self-awareness of their bodies and be able to identify unsafe situations.
JUSTICE: We believe the path to justice, in whatever form, should be equal and accessible to all.
RESPECT: We believe everyone should be treated with dignity, equality and respect. We believe everyone’s voice has a right to be heard.
a message from our founders
Most people think it will never happen to their child, but abuse does not discriminate. In fact, individuals with disabilities are more vulnerable. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), children with disabilities are three times more likely to be abused than their peers without disabilities, while children with intellectual and mental health disabilities have nearly five times the risk of being sexually abused. This is a global epidemic.
Raising a child with a disability is already challenging, and abuse makes things so much harder.
Our family went through this. We should have had access to support and services. We didn’t. We felt the devastation. We never want anyone else to feel that way.
We are committed to using our lived experience to make that a reality by providing:
1. Advocating and preventative education for children with disabilities, their parents, medical professionals and law enforcement
2. Guidance, resources, and support for victims and their families
Raising a child with a disability is already challenging, and abuse makes things so much harder.
Our family went through this. We should have had access to support and services. We didn’t. We felt the devastation. We never want anyone else to feel that way.
We are committed to using our lived experience to make that a reality by providing:
1. Advocating and preventative education for children with disabilities, their parents, medical professionals and law enforcement
2. Guidance, resources, and support for victims and their families
Nicole Moehring, Founder Maci Lynch, Co - founder
our team
board of directors
Voices of Change 2018 is governed by our Board of Directors. If you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors, please submit your resume to: info@voicesofchange2018.com in the subject line, please put Board of Directors Interest
Pat Murray
Board President
Clare Quartaraco
Secretary
Kathy Morris-McCandless
Treasurer