JCIP #261 - Jody Goldsworthy

In episode 261 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Jody Goldsworthy. Jody is the Founder and CEO of Jonathan’s House Ministries, which serves as one of the only male domestic abuse shelters in Wales. Jonathan’s House Ministries firmly believes in all men, and that all men deserve to be healed, restored and eventually fulfilled. Through building safe spaces and educating people on the effects of abuse, they believe they can change things for men who have been domestically abused across the UK. Jody founded it in 2023 and it became a C.I.C in March 2024. In Wales, Jody says there are approximately 850,000 men who have gone through present or historical domestic abuse. Jody is a survivor of domestic abuse himself and was abused for 10 years by his first wife. This abuse took the form of financial abuse, coercive control, physical abuse, psychological abuse and sexual abuse through being made-to-penetrate or how it should be defined, rape. Unfortunately, Jody’s history of abuse didn’t start there and he was physically and sexually abused by his father in childhood. He was 11 years old when he was first diagnosed with depression and he made three suicide attempts between the ages of 11-16 years old. He also began hearing voices and in 2010 was diagnosed with psychotic tendencies. After the domestic abuse and the breakdown of his marriage, he was put on three different types of medication and was on them for two years. In 2010, he reached breaking point with the domestic abuse and he made several more suicide attempts between 2010-2012. He also claims his wife deliberately left medication out around him when he was in a state of suicidality to tempt him into taking his own life. Thankfully, in 2013 he was able to escape this marriage and from 2013-2019, he began to rebuild his life. He had been banned from going to church by his wife, which she did as a way to isolate from his faith community. He first disclosed to a friend about his domestic abuse and the childhood sexual abuse in 2015, the latter of which was reported to the police by his friend. Thankfully, this story eventually has a positive ending. He has since remarried and has started Jonathan’s House Ministries to channel that trauma into something positive to help men. In this episode, we discuss all of that abuse and the mental health impact it had on him, his story of recovery and the positive work that JHM does for men in Wales and his ambitions for it for the future. As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about Jonathan's House Ministries here: https://jonathanshouse.org.uk/ You can follow Jonathan's House Ministries on social media below: Twitter: https://x.com/jhministriesuk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jhm_uk/ Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-health Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains deep and at times graphic discussions of sexual abuse, domestic abuse and suicide which some listeners may find extremely upsetting or distressing, so please listen with caution.