According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 20,000 phone calls are placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide on an average day.
One woman shared how connecting with Promise Place helped her get the attorney and counseling professionals she and her daughter needed after leaving an abusive household.
“My daughter is 13 now, but she was four when the divorce from my ex was final. We lived in a very unpleasant household and my daughter was having some significant aggression issues. We had plans to divorce, of course, but she was my primary concern along with the proper way to do it. I had an attorney that was not for me, did not care for her, and I just kept hitting brick walls. A lady from my church said, ‘Go to Promise Place, they will give you an excellent attorney.’ So I did.”
“I cannot remember the lady’s last name, but I’ll never forget her. Her name was Sonja. She was amazing. I just walked in, she told me to come on and she sat in her office with me. We discussed the abuse and she gave me my attorney recommendation. I also needed counselors for my daughter. I really wanted someone that was a Ph. D., actually, because I had a counselor, and I just felt like I needed someone that had high qualifications because she had significant issues. Sonja had great recommendations right off the bat, because I didn’t have any good ones. And it’s true with any skill; you’ll have good physicians, you’ll have bad physicians. You’ll have good attorneys, bad attorneys, good counselors, bad counselors. I kept running into that, but she helped me. She could not have been any more passionate and compassionate.”
“I never had to actually get to the house that they provide at Promise Place. We did go through the divorce, and my daughter and I moved in with my parents, and then we resided with my parents most of the time. But I was at a loss and I kept hitting brick walls, and it’s just been a nightmare since. I’m actually still going for civil court proceedings. I went because you question yourself. ‘Am I at fault? Or not?’ And she clearly laid it out for me that it is not me because he had been physical a couple of times. I could not stick around for more. It’s one of the things that you always hear of and you never think, that you would be a victim. I guess it just never crosses your mind. I mean, who would think that, you know? It’s still very shocking to me to this day. Very shocking. I would have never dreamed any of that. What do you do? You pray, you lean on God and you’re thankful your kid is okay, because some kids are not. It sure is a wakeup call.”
“My daughter’s amazing. We’re still going through a lot of court things right now, so that adds extra stress that we would prefer not to have. She has, thankfully, by the grace of God, been under two amazing Ph.D.s. They have made a world of difference for her, because my issue was not the divorce. She was relieved to be out of there and for the divorce. So mine was not the divorce issue, it was the neglect, the abuse, the way he treated her. Not a healthy situation.”