Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Matheson.
Hi Tracy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
April 10, 2017 Is the day the world as we knew it, changed forever. It is the day we learned that our precious daughter, Molly Jane, was dead. We did not know how or why she died. We learned the next day that her death was ruled a homicide. We also learned that she had been raped.
This devastating news was more than we were prepared to handle. How do you deal with the death of a child and then find out her death was caused by another person?
In the weeks that followed, we also learned that the person who was arrested for her murders was someone familiar to law enforcment.
We did not know what we were going to do, but we knew we must do something. We had to find a way to take our unbearable tragedy and immeasureable pain and use them to ignite change. Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission was founded out of a parent’s worst nightmare. We are determined Molly’s story will be a catalyst for change.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been anything but smooth.
We have navigated this difficult journey always believing our story can help bring change.
Telling our story and sharing the challenging facts is an important part of our work. Getting others to listen, really listen, and imagine what they can do to do better is not easy.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission?
Project Beloved’s mission is to educate, advocate, and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voice.
We do that in a couple of ways.
We provide Beloved Bundles to rape crisis centers and hospitals around the country. When a survivor goes to the hospital to have a forensic exam by a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner), often called a “rape kit,” and law enforcement is involved, many times their belongings are seized as evidence. They are left with nothing to wear home from the hospital.
A Beloved Bundle includes: clothing, undergarments, hygiene products and other necessary items so that the survivor can leave with dignity and know that someone cares.
We also partner with law enforcement agencies, child advocacy centers, district attorney’s offices providing a trauma informed environment for sexual assault investigations. These rooms are called Soft Interview Rooms. Trauma informed care (TIC) considers and understands the body’s biological and neurological response to trauma. Evidence based practices call for a trauma informed approach to reports of rape and sexual assault, and a soft interview room is considered an integral component of TIC. Creating a space that is comfortable rather than stark allows the participant to feel physically and emotionally safe and can have a significant impact on the interview process. Soft interview rooms can also be useful when interviewing those suspected of committing crimes as well.
We also award scholarships to students studying social work at The University of Arkansas.
Additionally, we have successfully worked to pass 2 laws in the state of Texas. HB 3106 (Molly Jane’s Law) was passed in 2019. HB 4628 was passed in 2023.
What are your plans for the future?
No big changes. We will keep doing our part to impact change.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.projectbeloved.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proj_beloved/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBeLovEdMJM
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-matheson-89755b55/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@projectbeloved9569
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-beloved-the-molly-jane-mission/?viewAsMember=true
