THE WAKE

"Feeling for the first time that I had everything under full control, I would no longer accept any kind of abuse and that I would spot it a mile away I set out once again on my own. Unfortunately and unknowingly I met a beautiful man who portrayed himself to be absolutely everything I had ever wanted and missed out on in all my previous relationships. Boy was I fooled. After only 3 months of courting I married him and the nightmare soon began.

God spared my life 7 years ago. I survived domestic violence and spent 3 months in 3 different domestic violence shelters. I left the shelters with the same clothes I walked in with and a hole in the only shoes I had for 3 months. Oh, and hyper vigilant post traumatic stress disorder. I could hardly leave the house for the next 3 years. Slowly and gradually I have recovered and now I am helping women and children who leave domestic violence shelters set up their entire households.

I pray everyday to be a blessing to those I meet and that my life not be for nothing, that all my suffering and sorrow not be in vain, but that by sharing my story it might make a difference in someone else's life. I have since started a non-profit organization called Heaven's Household, helping those women and children coming out of domestic violence shelters with the need of setting up a household.

Moving out of shelters many of them have few or no possessions to establish a new home with. Once they have accommodations we then provide all the essentials for setting up a new household. Items such as couches, beds, pot and pans, dishes, kitchen utensils, lamps, vacuums, clothes, shoes, and small appliances.

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