Charlene is 68 years old and she has breast cancer. She has Medicare, but she still had so many doctor bills that she could barely make ends meet, so she decided to rent out her spare room. But the man who moved in scared her. He threatened her, and when she asked him to pay […]
Ruth was recovering from surgery in a wheelchair when her husband of several decades grabbed her and yelled at her in a public place. She felt deeply humiliated, and the reaction from those around her was a life-changing moment. “Unless we have someone to enlighten us about abused women, we have no idea what to
Terry and her sons, Lane and Charlie, lived in fear of her abusive husband. He forced them to move each time neighbors or school officials discovered his abuse. Once he made them move in the middle of the night without any of their belongings. Terry wanted to protect her sons, so she got a restraining
Cara had a new baby and was in an intensely controlling, abusive relationship with the baby’s father, Darren. Cara was afraid to sleep, turn her back on Darren, or leave the baby alone because Darren would shake the baby and make graphic threats of how he would end the child’s life. Cara went to a
Brenda, 36, has five children between the ages of seven and fifteen. For more than 17 years, Brenda’s husband physically abused her, and isolated her and the children from family, friends, and neighbors. He would not allow her to get a job or send the children to school outside their home. Finally, after a terrifying
Claudia and her 5-year-old son, Ryan, were living with Chris, Ryan’s father. Chris would frequently yell and act aggressively. Claudia was concerned about the effect this was having on Ryan — he was so afraid of loud noises that he would cling to her legs when Chris was screaming at her. Then, after disappearing for
Tammy’s husband severely abused her for many years, and kept her a prisoner in their rural, remote home. She obtained a restraining order, but he broke into her home and attacked her in front of their three-year-old daughter, Turquoise. Tammy was seriously injured and he was charged with attempted murder. Legal aid helped Tammy obtain
Karri thought she might lose custody of her children, Austin and Colleen. Although she obtained a divorce from her abusive husband more than two years ago, he continued to visit the children, and those visits sometimes ended with violence against Karri. In an odd twist, Karri’s ex-husband accused her of physically attacking him. He filed
Anna could see that her son Juan was in danger. His father was abusive to Anna and, when he was drinking, he was abusive and neglectful towards Juan. Legal aid helped Anna get an order requiring supervised parenting time. When Juan’s father attacked the supervisor, legal aid helped end the father’s parenting time.
Tara’s abusive husband continually violated the restraining order she had obtained. Tara felt the situation was dangerous, so she left a secure job and moved with her young son to another city. When the Employment Department denied her claim for temporary unemployment benefits, she was cut off from the only means of support available during