Survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence describe calling Safe Alliance's HOPE Hotline after finding a police pamphlet, then receiving shelter, therapy, legal help with restraining orders, and counseling that allowed them to heal and rebuild their lives.
I was going to a very big culinary school here in Charlotte. Anytime I was in a kitchen, I would just go into panic. As a child, I was sexually abused by my brother. I knew it wasn't what was supposed to happen. I knew about abuse.
Cuando yo llegué a este país, tuve una primera mala experiencia con un compañero. Él entró a mi carro y me rompió la blusa y trató de tocarme mis partes. Yo al día siguiente hablé con el jefe de él y él me dijo, ni se te ocurra llamar a la policía. Trato de olvidarlo porque no quiero más recordarlo.
I first met my ex-husband when I was in college. 3 months into our relationship, the red flags started to pop up. The mind games, the controlling. His friend called the police because he pulled out a knife on me. Their name was on a pamphlet that the cop gave me, so I called them. So I called the hotline.
This is Iris with the HOPE Hotline. How can I help you? Right now, my concern is your safety. So what I want to do is a safety plan with you. It sounds like you may be in need of safe shelter as well. I'm going to go ahead and transfer you over, okay? We are always here for you.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Calling the hotline really helped prioritize what needed to happen next. I went to the shelter. I had like one bag and like a little suitcase. They were like, don't try to call a whole bunch of people, just rest, just sleep. So that's what I did. I woke up in the morning and then I started my counseling.
The biggest thing that they did for me was therapy. I went only with the one-on-one therapy. It was so nice. I was able to go in and just talk and work through so much. I appreciate the fact that they still help even if you've been out of the trauma for years.
Safe Alliance was very helpful with the whole legal process. When I first had to go and get my restraining order, they were there. They helped me, you know, figure out how I was gonna stand up there and, you know, tell these people what happened. So if Safe Alliance had not been there, I probably would not have gotten a restraining order.
I would like to start off this session by reading a poem. A strong person is A strong person is not the one who doesn't cry. A strong person is the one who cries and shed tears for a moment, then gets up and fight again.
The group counseling was very therapeutic because nobody felt like singled out, like it's just me. The moderator or the person just kind of running the meeting just starts talking about different ways that You know, we can build ourselves up.
De hecho, siempre tengo mucha paz y mucha tranquilidad cuando vengo a mis terapias. Después, con el tiempo, con las terapias de aquí, o sea, realmente sí me ha hecho como olvidar sobre ese asunto.
In addition to a person coming and living at our shelter, we also offer a range of other services. So often a victim of sexual assault will go to the hospital because they have injuries that need to be documented and we have to do a forensic exam. We provide an advocate who'll meet them there and be with them through the whole process. No one agency can address domestic violence and sexual assault alone, so we rely on community partners— counseling partners, housing partners, racial equity partners, LGBTQ partners— trying to make sure that our clients have access to everything that they The reason that we do this work, we know that if we intervene now, we're going to make this an easier pathway for people who are dealing with these issues and create a healthier and safer community.
I was about to transition out of the shelter and kind of go back into real life, and that for me was so scary. It was scary because I didn't want to lose all the traction that I had built. Safe Alliance being a support system really helps these women transition away from their abusers.
Thank God here in Charlotte we have someone that's able to help so many people. My abuse made me very anxious all the time. SAFE Alliance helped me so much.
A lot of people think that domestic violence is just like, you know, just women that don't have their lives together. I met women that lived in multi-million dollar homes. I met women that were homeless.
If it weren't for that phone call, I have no idea if I would have even made it through that day. If it wasn't for that amazing woman, I wouldn't be here.
Yo hace unos tres años ya tenía conocimiento de la Fundación Seva Lions. Es una entidad que salva vidas y estoy muy agradecida.
