Sheila arrived at the Women Against Abuse Emergency Shelter after waking up in a hospital emergency room.

I was probably 8 or 9 the first time we went to Women Against Abuse’s shelter in the mid-1980s. It was in [West Philly] and it was because my mom was in a domestic violence situation and we needed to find a safe place to live.

Doug Schoenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of SofterWare, Inc., recently provided a challenge match through the Schoenberg Family Charitable Fund as an incentive to help Women Against Abuse gain new monthly donors.

“This is not OK; this is not who I will be; I will love my children; violence will not be allowed in my home.”

Meet Sara, a survivor of domestic violence, who overcame an abusive relationship and navigated a new country, all while parenting two children.

I thought I had found THE ONE. I rekindled a friendship with someone who was God fearing, worked at the church and brought me closer to God. He would pray over me and for our relationship, and I thought he was my safe space. Until one day he wasn’t…

I was 5 years old when my mom got a new job as a manager at a local KFC. She met a gentleman there who was a suave, smooth kind of guy, rode a bike, didn’t care about authority, and was the opposite of my father. My mom fell hard for him.

Ingresar al albergue seguro de Women Against Abuse, realmente irse para siempre, fue la culminación de 10 años de abuso en la relación; más discusiones, amenazas y noches sin dormir de las que Natalie* podría contar. Tenían hijos en común, compartían la vida y dependían del otro económicamente. No era fácil ponerle un fin a la relación.

Lucia* came to the Women Against Abuse emergency shelter pregnant and with five children.

Al pensar en la violencia doméstica, a menudo se piensa en una víctima/sobreviviente adulta. Pero ¿qué sucede con los niños, las niñas y las personas jóvenes adultas que han experimentado abuso o han sentido miedo en sus propios hogares? Candace, quien trabajó como terapeuta en Women Against Abuse, fue testigo de cómo abusaban a su madre durante años y elige contar su historia sobre este aspecto de la violencia doméstica del que poco se habla. A continuación, sus palabras.