Sara, her 10-year-old son, and 7-year-old daughter lived in fear every day.
Sara had been married to a prominent community leader who by day ran a thriving business and terrorized them at night.
Twelve years of abuse stopped the night Sara and her kids hid in the closet as her partner threw furniture around and screamed he would kill them. When he went to bed, they escaped out a window to a neighbor’s house.
The next morning, the neighbor connected them with Family Pathways’ Black Dog Hill Emergency Shelter, the only domestic abuse shelter in 5600 square miles.
The first few nights Sara struggled to sleep.
She knew her husband was looking for her and it caused her such fear and anxiety. When she did finally sleep, even her dreams were terrorizing. However, one day Sara reports,
I woke up after having a nightmare that I was still in that house. When I realized that I was only dreaming and still in my bed at Black Dog Hill, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. This was the first time in years I felt safe.
– Sara
Today Sara works part-time and is attending college.
She and her children share a small apartment and they are enrolled in a new school. Together they are rebuilding their lives and each other.
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