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John Kenny with presenter Royal Williams, Regional Vice President, Manulife Financial. |
Oshawa, Ontario
Incarcerated for almost 20 years, victim of abuse builds meaningful life
John Kenny was born into a problematic family. His father was an alcoholic, who wanted nothing to do with him. His mother lacked any nurturing skills and frequently told John that she should have flushed him down the toilet when he was born. She left the family when he was just four years old.
John was placed into temporary care of the Children?s Aid Society and was placed in various foster homes. In one foster home, he was kept in a home made cage and fed out of a dog dish. When he cried, he was poked with a pole so that he did not disturb the other children in the house. In another home, the children were not allowed to speak with John or eat at the same table with him.
At the age of nine, John was placed in a hospital and a few years later, was transferred to St. John?s Training School. Here, John was vulnerable to beatings and bullying by other children until one of the Christian Brothers became his "protector." This man took advantage of his vulnerability, raped him twice and then left him feeling abandoned once again. He was transferred to another foster home where the foster father raped him at knifepoint. As his behaviour became more problematic he was returned to St. John?s training school where the mistreatment continued. At just 12 years old, John resolved that he would never trust anyone again.
Against the advice of a psychiatrist, John was sent to live with his mother in Winnipeg. At one point, he had a sexual feeling towards his brother that left him confused and he felt his brother would be better off dead, than to live through what John had lived through. Within three months, he was charged with manslaughter after the death of his half-brother. For nearly 20 years, John lived in various institutions and was once told that he was one of the most dangerous and sickest people in the institution who was never expected to leave.
Despite the odds, John was able to work through all of these issues and find some peace and stability. The first five years after his release were extremely difficult. He was used to very small quarters and literally converted his rooming house into a jail cell. He was not comfortable venturing into the community and he did all of his grocery shopping at the corner store. His freedom intimidated him.
Somehow, John found the strength to become a volunteer with the Salvation Army where he has now been helping since 1984. In addition, John was instrumental in facilitating an apology to the victims of abuse from the government and the church and he has been invited to speak at a number of conferences on clergy abuse. John has appeared on CBC, Rogers Cable and Vision TV. He has been a guest speaker for the staff at Whitby Mental Health Centre's Grand Rounds. He is active on their Patient Council and on the Clinical Ethics committee and he has worked on other projects for the hospital.
John has defied all of the odds against him. Today, he has been married for over five years. He has developed into a gentle, yet courageous and honest person who has a genuine concern for all. His message is that there is always hope, no matter how bad life gets.
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This page was last modified on February 5, 2003 9:31 AM .
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