Anita’s Story

Anita, mother of two children, aged 10 and 12, had fearfully disclosed to a member of her church that her husband, Brian, was abusing her. That member berated Brian about it, which only served to intensify the violence.

Brian ultimately locked her and the children out of the house. They stayed with one church family, then another because they had nowhere to go. Anita worked part-time and couldn’t afford a place of her own. She finally called Friendship Home.  

Anita and her children stayed in emergency shelter for a month and then went into Friendship Home’s Transitional Housing program, for several more. After 5 months, she had a Section 8 voucher for an apartment and was offered a full-time position with her company.

Anita said they would never have offered it if she were still with Brian. She said she missed significant work due to Brian’s violence and he was always creating obstacles to her getting to work. Anita could now focus on her children and her job.