Author Archives: Samantha Syrnich TLC

About The Hand Behind The Phoenix Quill— I’ve lived many lives within one — some born of light, some forged in fire. Each left its mark, and in the ashes, I found my voice. The Phoenix Quill was never just a name; it became my heartbeat — a place where pain turned to purpose, and truth was no longer something to survive, but something to share. I am a poet, artist, advocate, and storyteller — guided by a love that refuses to die quietly. Through words and imagery, I tell stories of resilience, of rising when the world says you’ve fallen too far. My work carries pieces of the people and places that shaped me — veterans, children, the voiceless, the forgotten — and the fire that demanded their stories be heard. Every poem, every painting, every creation under The Phoenix Quill is born from that promise: to turn heartbreak into healing, to honor truth even when it burns, and to remind others that they, too, can rise. This is my life’s work — to give voice to the silence, hope to the weary, and beauty to the broken. Welcome to The Phoenix Quill: Words Born of Fire, Inked in Truth. Where ashes become art — and every word remembers how to rise.

When the System Becomes the Abuser: A Report on Institutional Betrayal

By: Samantha Syrnich — Restorative Justice Week
November 23-29th, 2025

I recently reviewed an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, and I saw my family’s lived reality reflected in legal language.
The brief outlines the very patterns my children and I experienced firsthand: coercive control, system-enabled abuse, institutional blindness, and the repeated failure to prioritize child safety over procedure.

Key insights from the brief match what happened to us:

  • Abuse is not limited to physical violence. Coercive control, manipulation, intimidation, and system-abuse create prolonged, invisible danger.
  • My children were not bystanders. They were directly harmed — physically, psychologically, emotionally, and developmentally. Labeling them as “witnesses” minimizes what they actually endured.
  • Systems can be weaponized. Multiple abusers used institutional gaps to maintain control, while agencies dismissed, ignored, or misinterpreted the signs.
  • Paper protections often fail. Research confirms that safety promises and supervised‐visit “measures” break down in practice — something we personally experienced.
  • Procedure often outweighs safety. When institutions follow rigid steps instead of assessing actual risk, children are placed back in harm’s way.

Institutional betrayal is real.
It is preventable.
And the cost lands on children.

THIS IS RESTORATIVE JUSTICE WEEK,
a time to acknowledge harm, confront systemic failures, and advocate for trauma-informed reform. Survivors don’t need pity; we need institutional accountability and policy change that reflects the realities documented in this brief.

Full brief available here:
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Amicus Brief – Golan.pdfDownload