BRANCHING OUT 2 0 1 6 FA L L N E W S L E T T E R
Living In Fear Because of you, a family that fell victim to domestic violence survived.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Living In Fear PAIN, ISOLATION & HUNGER
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ometimes I could hear my mom in the other room crying to herself. She tried to hide it from us kids, but I knew inside how hard it was on her.
I remember the feeling, like a knot in the pit of my stomach, as I left for school.
Would Mom be all right? Sometimes as I drifted off to sleep at night, I’d wonder if tomorrow would be better than today. Many times it wasn’t. I guess that’s what happens in a family when your stepdad yells at your mother, threatens her, or worse, grabs her and pushes her to the floor and sits on top of her and chokes her. It was like that for years for me and my younger brothers and sisters. We were all living in fear. A lot of this started to happen when I was around 11 or 12.
My stepdad didn’t want my mom to go out in public. He wouldn’t let her use the car. When there was no food in the house, Mom would walk to the gas station to buy something for us to eat. Then he would come home and be mad because he thought someone came to the house and brought us food. We never had a lot of money because even though my stepdad worked, he would gamble it away. There were times when my stepdad left the house for days. I didn’t know
why or where he went.
Sometimes I would open the refrigerator and there would only be a jar of mustard and some old stuff on the shelf. We had free breakfast at school and I would save mine and bring it home for my little brother who always seemed to be hungry. The hardest times were when my stepdad lost control. It was like a switch — something flipped. It happened more than I’d want to remember.
Probably worst of all was the time when he tried to drag Mom into the other room and close the door and we were trying to push open the door so he couldn’t do that. He pushed her down and was trying to choke her. He finally stormed out of the house. Mom latched the chain on the door. But he came back and rammed the door open. He threw us out of the house and threw our clothes all over the yard. I think the neighbors called the police.
As I went off That was when Mom found to school, the courage to break free and start a new life. I wondered, I didn’t know until we “Would Mom came to A New Leaf’s be all Faith House that there were right?” STARTING A NEW LIFE
so many others like us — or that so many people cared about what we were going through. Things began to change — instead of living in fear, we began living with hope. MORE THAN A SHELTER
A New Leaf’s Faith House did so much more than provide my family with a safe home — they gave us things we needed, like food and toothpaste. They lifted us up and helped in so many ways! The staff gave each of us one-on-one counseling so we could talk about our fear and pain. They also helped my mom with financial advice and helped her find work. Now Mom has a job at a nursing home. She bought her own car and she’s saving money
turnanewleaf.org | 868 E. University Drive Mesa, AZ 85203 | (480) 464-4648
to buy a house of our own. She’s amazing!
They helped us with other things too, like childcare, referrals for legal advice and transportation. They have classes for my mom and me on how to build healthy relationships, set personal boundaries and how to be safe. They gave us guidance in the basic things we need to get by in life, like being on time and taking responsibility for our actions. FRIENDSHIPS & SMILES
The staff at Faith House is more like family. When I come home from school, I like to talk about my day and we all laugh about things. When my uncle died, it was hard on all of us. I talked to a counselor who shared her own feelings about losing a family member. That helped me a lot. I’m 17 now and I should probably tell you that I really like school. I don’t like to brag, but I made the honor roll. I am also taking classes at community college while I finish my senior year of high school.
I have plans to go the University of Arizona after I graduate. I can think about my own future now that I know my family is going to be OK. I can even dream. Oh, yeah, I smile a lot more these days.
I Am a Survivor “Many people look at me today never suspecting that I was a victim of domestic violence, as if it has a face. I am a survivor. For all the support, love, encouragement and honesty I received, I want to give back. It’s just one of the reasons I donate to A New Leaf.”
TIFFANY
YOU INSPIRE US Local Organizations Raise Over $161,000 for Faith House HUD cuts eliminated $500,000 of federal funding for A New Leaf’s Faith House, which has led to special fundraising efforts. This year, we were thrilled to receive over $161,000 in support from local organizations to ensure our services for Faith House remain. We continue to aggressively seek additional support to raise funds. Our thanks goes out to the following organizations who have partnered with A New Leaf to maintain these critical services:
Fundraiser to Support Domestic Violence Awareness Month A New Leaf will host our annual “Teed Off at Domestic Violence” fundraiser on October 21, 2016 from 1—4 p.m. For more information, visit turnanewleaf.org or call (480) 464-4648.
You Can Help Give the gift of newfound hope, new beginnings, growth and change for individuals and families in need. Remove the envelope to find out how.
5 Reasons Why
1. A New Leaf fully maximizes your donations for the greatest impact 2. You help to keep vulnerable populations off the streets (women and children) 3. You allow our programs to provide critical services that help families get back on their feet 4. Approximately 36,400 people experienced homelessness in Arizona last year; 34% were families with children — you help make a difference 5. We are changing the future of our community one person/family at a time
3 Ways How
Make an impact gift
Volunteer your time
Coordinate a basic needs drive in your neighborhood
Visit turnanewleaf.org to donate and for more ways to help.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED (480) 464-4648 turnanewleaf.org
Please send us your address changes so we may keep our information current.
868 E. University Drive Mesa, AZ 85203-8033
Kickball Tournament Fights Against Domestic Violence They’ve done it again. Alpha Chi Omega at ASU donates $16,788 to A New Leaf from their “Kickin’ It” kickball tournament to support the fight against domestic violence. These young women are all about making a difference!
Please visit our new Planned Giving website located at anewleaflegacy.org.
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