A Survivor’s Timeline

July 4, 2022

During those Fourth of July fireworks, Raquel’s neighbors didn’t hear Raquel’s screams, but they saw her bruises the next day. Raquel and her 4-year-old son, Jeremy, were terrorized throughout that night.

July 5, 2022

A close friend and neighbor of Raquel’s told Raquel about Partnership Against Domestic Violence and encouraged Raquel to call our 24/7 hotline. Raquel, reached out to Partnership Against Domestic Violence for help. She had been enduring physical and emotional abuse from her partner for 11 years and was finally ready to take action and leave the relationship. The crisis line advocate who spoke with Raquel assisted her with safety planning and coming up with a plan to leave her home safely. Raquel was also guided on how to turn off the location services on her phone before leaving to help ensure her partner would not follow her.

July 7, 2022

Raquel safely left her home while her abusive partner was at work. Raquel, along with her son, Jeremy, arrived at the emergency shelter with the clothes on their back and Jeremy’s favorite blanket.

August 10, 2022

While staying at the emergency shelter, after taking some time to heal from the physical bruises, Raquel met with an empowerment advocate at Partnership Against Domestic Violence, who helped her create a strategic success plan to figure out what Raquel’s next steps would be. The empowerment advocate connected Raquel and Jeremy with an onsite therapist who specialized in trauma recovery and offered ongoing counseling sessions. Raquel wasn’t employed at the time, but was interested in finding a way to not return back to the abuse.

August 14, 2022

Throughout the month of August, Raquel’s abuser attempted to make contact with her, but PADV provided her with a cell phone and the number was kept private. Raquel was able to maintain her safety and remain in the emergency shelter without any contact with her abuser. Through social media, her abuser messaged her various apologies intertwined with threats of violence. Raquel continuously tried to block his threats online and unfollowed and unfriended him.

August 20, 2022

After the last threat of violence on social media, fearing for her life, Raquel decided to pursue a temporary protection order with PADV’s Legal Advocacy team. The legal advocate assisted Raquel with navigating through the strenuous process of obtaining a TPO, and Raquel successfully achieved what she needed.

September 11, 2022

Raquel started attending support group meetings with other survivors of domestic violence, which provided her with a sense of community and the knowledge that she was not alone in her experiences. Initially, she was not interested in joining a support group, but after seeing her 4-year-old have so much fun in the children’s support group, Raquel realized that joining a support group and talking to other survivors is exactly what she needed. She also began attending life skills classes to help her rebuild her life, including job search skills and financial management.

September 19, 2022

Raquel obtained full-time employment as an Administrative Assistant. PADV assisted Raquel in finding a Georgia Pre-K program that would allow her son to attend school for free while she was at work.

October 1, 2022

Raquel moved out of the emergency shelter and into PADV’s Supportive Housing program where Raquel has her own apartment. Partnership Against Domestic Violence helped her with moving and also provided her with ongoing support to help her transition into a safe life with no violence. Raquel continued to attend therapy sessions, support groups, and learn more about the red flags of abuse.