"TRUST A FEW..."

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare

This line is from William Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well – a play in which, it’s worth noting, nothing ends well at all. It’s a story of deception and nefarious dealings, centered around a main character bent on winning the object of their love at any cost.

You may notice the one thing Shakespeare didn’t make absolute in this line is trust – “…trust a few…” Science says Shakespeare may be on to something.

Researchers believe, by and large, our brains are naturally prone to trusting people. Since the dawn of humankind, we’ve had to trust others in order for the species to survive. In well-functioning relationships, individuals can trust that a partner will show them love, that a business will hold up their end of a deal, and that someone in a position of power will wield it responsibly.

Here’s where trust gets tricky. It’s a leap of faith with no guarantees. While the willingness to trust others is built into our being, others don’t always act in a way deserving of that instinct. Neuroscientists say it’s possible for our brains to be fooled into a false trust of another person with bad intent – essentially, our innate desire to trust overrides our logical mind.

Broken trust is the bedrock of abusive behavior. Violence, empty promises, insults, and real or imagined threats are the tools abusers use to break down their victim’s ability to think rationally. And abusers are good at it. They know their partner’s every intimate need, hope, and fear and they know how to twist it all in a betrayal of body and mind that leaves the idea of putting trust in another person nearly impossible.

Nearly.

Destroying something – or someone – is easy. It’s quick. It’s cowardly. Building something takes strength. It takes time, attention, and commitment. We see that strength every day at Sojourner in the courage of survivors who share what’s happened to them, and the dedication our staff displays in the work they do and the care they take.

Because of your support, Sojourner has been building the trust of our community and those who call on us for help for 50 years. In 2023, nearly 10,000 people turned to us in their time of crisis. That’s 10,000 leaps of faith that we’ll be here when they land.  

There’s no place we’d rather be.