September 2012 Newsletter

Download a PDF to read the full newsletter. Or read our featured article below.

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Anonymous Success

Her face and name are concealed for her protection from a domestic abuser. She wants a new life without fear and violence. In the photo she is walking up the steps to the Mission’s Samaritan Inn, a place of rescue and hope that she so desperately needed.

She had a great childhood and was very close to her family. She graduated from college and became a successful professional. She married. They had children, a home and more than an adequate income. He became controlling, jealous and physically abusive. After planning and saving, she grabbed a single bag and escaped. She thought it was going to be over, but it was not over. He decided she was his wife. She said, “I was afraid, like a hunted animal. The homes of friends and relatives were places too obvious for him to find me. I kept running, hiding, exhausted.” For a time, she had such great fear that she would not eat for days in a motel room, even with vending machines just outside the door. Still, he found her through electronic means. In the process of trying to force her back home, she was severely injured, unable to even walk. She had no medical insurance, because she had quit her job. Yet, her recent high income kept her from qualifying for assistance programs. She went to a domestic violence shelter, but could only stay 30 days. She said, “It takes time to heal physically and emotionally. Its hard to look for a job with bruises or a limp. Some women just give up and go back home because they just can’t take it. The Mission stops the revolving door. I don’t think I would have survived on the street.”

She felt safe here, because she said he would not come to this place because he would be in trouble if he tried anything forceful. It was an unlikely place for her to be, surrounded by younger women, many with troubled backgrounds. Those in her dorm were tough, on parole or probation, calling themselves “prison chicks”. Yet, they lovingly adopted her, like a mascot. They would tease her about getting a totally out of character tattoo, piercing or pink hair, but would escort her to places like the library, because she still had trouble walking and was still very much afraid of being discovered again. She said, “Samaritan Inn is wonderful, great support, loving care.” Now, she has a new, full-time professional position. She is putting the pieces of her life back together again, developing a support system, saving money and will soon move out.

She said, “I am a Christian and it comes with certain expectations, like staying in a marriage, even longer than is safe. God brought me to Samaritan Inn to be healed and find the direction He wants me to go. I am not a victim; I am a survivor, gaining from this experience. Devotion time here is fruitful, helpful, encouraging. We share honestly, praying for each other’s needs. I was almost in despair when I came here. I leave blessed by God and ready to grasp the life He has led me to. I am doing this article because we need this place. Thank you.”