Journeys of Survival: Victoria S.
Victoria tried to run away from her husband several times during 11 years of severe emotional and physical abuse. Every time, she managed to take her children, Kathy, 12, and Joseph, 13, with her. Every time, she had to leave her job or simply got fired. Every time, she stayed at one of area shelters or just slept on the street. And every time, he used his connections to track her down; then he beat and raped her and forced her to return at gunpoint. Until last year, when she fled to the Portland metro area and got into Monika’s House Shelter.
On her last escape, Victoria left Kathy and Joseph with her mother, planning to find a safe place somewhere far away and have them join her later. Only after days on the road and hundreds of miles between her and her abuser, did she feel safe enough to seek shelter again, finding safety at Monika’s House. Kathy, Joseph, and her mother, who had managed to quickly sell her house, arrived to join Victoria in the middle of the night more than a week later.
Victoria spent a lot of time recovering from her ordeal. Then it was time to regain control of her life. She attended counseling sessions with our Family Violence Intervention Program. With the help of Claudia, her advocate at the Shelter, she was lucky to find transitional housing for her family and received assistance in arranging a school transfer for Kathy and Joseph. Particularly Kathy was feeling anxious to have to attend a new school without any school supplies. Just before they left Monika’s House, staff and other residents threw Joseph a birthday party!
After their 3-week stay, Victoria and her family moved to transitional housing in another county. Victoria started taking computer classes, and Kathy and Joseph got scholarships for after-school volleyball and soccer. Advocates at Monika’s House followed up with phone calls, offered assistance with transportation to services not available in her new location, and provided an emergency bed space at the Shelter when she couldn’t make it back home in time. During each phone call, Kathy would insist on speaking with Claudia to find out whether she’d be getting her backpack in time for school.
Last week, Claudia visited Victoria in her new home, bringing the last of her belongings. When she greeted Claudia, Victoria broke into tears. “They are happy tears,” Victoria said, while Kathy and Joseph crushed Claudia with hugs. Imagine Kathy’s excitement when Claudia gave her a backpack full of school supplies!
Kudos to Claudia Haskew, Sonja Farster, and La Donna Burgess, for contributing to this story, helping Victoria and her family start a new life, and making sure Kathy and Joseph are returning to school with new backpacks. Please note that survivors’ names have been changed for this story to protect their confidentiality.
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Victoria and her family are just a few of the survivors restarting their lives with the help of Monika’s House Shelter, one of our programs. We invite you to consider supporting our work with a donation! Your generosity will help the future Victorias and Kathys and Josephs win back their violence-free lives. Click here to make a secure online donation. Thank you!
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More stories:
Editorial: Oregon Coalition’s Annual Conference
Save the Date: 10th Candlelight Vigil
In the News: The Hillsboro Argus on Resilience
House Rules: The Community Garden at Monika’s House
