While working as a former Special Victim’s Detective, Kevin McNeil noticed a disturbing trend. It seemed that for every case he closed, there were three more to investigate. This discovery helped Kevin realize that placing people in jail and responding to abuse was not enough.

 

Kevin’s own personal battle with abuse encouraged him to find a way to make others aware of the destructive effects of abuse on our world. As a survivor of abuse, he struggled with constant thoughts of suicide, alcohol addiction, and depression. He worked long hours as a police officer, but it was at home that he faced his greatest enemy-himself. The consequences of the abuse he had faced lingered, therefore he sought out therapy to aid in his healing process. It was in therapy that Kevin immersed himself in literature about abuse. He learned about the effects abuse had on the brain and a person’s behavior and found a correlation between abuse and violence in our culture.

 

He found that reading about abuse and educating himself on the effects played an immeasurable role in his healing process. The suicidal thoughts stopped, his urge to drink decreased, and his depression faded. His work productivity increased, he won numerous awards, and quickly excelled to the top of his field. He took pride in his discoveries and began sharing his story and findings with other victims.

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When Kevin shared his findings with victims and their parents, parents began taking their children to counseling, and sought out other educational resources on abuse. Some parents expressed to him that they did not know how to seek out information on abuse that they desired and that they wanted someone who would make the information simple and readily available.

 

Kevin created The Twelve Project to be the bridge between the lack of knowledge and awareness about abuse and people’s desire to learn. He provides resources with the aim of healing and teaching individuals, families, and communities. Inspired by the positive results people experienced from hearing his message, he took his plan a step further; he retired as a detective and began speaking and educating full time. 

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The Twelve Project was born!