SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a North Port man shares his story of surviving physical abuse to help others.
“There is a complete difference between discipline and beating,” Phillip Adams said. “Hitting is not love in any form.”
Phillip Adams is a North Resident who had a rough start in life. He grew up in Boston, Massachusetts when, at age five, he became a victim of abuse in his home. The attacker? His stepfather.
“The abuse started as a rough spanking here and there and then that progressed to more hands-on type things that led me to be in the hospital many times,” Adams said.
Adams says it was a daily assault.
“There was a lot of hitting, a lot of stitches, a couple of skull fractures, so it was rough,” Adams said.
The abuse continued until he was 13-years old when his grandmother saved him.
“As soon as she figured out what was going on, she called my father and said you’re taking your son,” Adams said.
Adams says abuse confused him as a child.
“That is the conditioning that you go through when you’re abused,” Adams said. “I hated him, as much as I loved him. You think that’s normal. He’s doing that cause he loves me.”
When he was young he tried to tell someone in the best way he could.
“I would write notes and I would leave them on my teacher’s desk,” Adams said. “I would do that sometimes, or they would touch me and I’d flinch.”
It’s important to look out for the signs of abuse. Adams encourages you to pay attention to the children all around you.
“These kids, kids like me, they cry out,” Adams said. “You just have to be open to hearing it.”
He got a second chance at life. Adams not only survived, he thrived.
“In the last years, my life has been the best it’s been ever,” Adams said. “Because one, I found help, and two, I realized that life is short. Enjoy every day.”
He’s married with seven children, living his best life.
“Not everybody is lucky – I’m very lucky, I’m extremely lucky,” Adams said.
If you need help, there are many services on Suncoast. Some include the Child Protection Services and the Safe Children Coalition.
