STORIES FROM OUR HOME
Nishaat's Story
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Vijaya's Story
Vijaya* was pregnant when she escaped her abusive partner. Though it was difficult, she knew that leaving was the only way to keep her child safe. Vijaya's first stop was Apna Ghar's emergency shelter. When she arrived at the shelter, Vijaya was welcomed by a case manager. Once she was settled, Vijaya's case manager started helping her access public benefits for prenatal care. She also helped Vijaya identify the services of a free doula to support her during her pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal period. Only a month after entering the shelter, Vijaya found out she was pregnant with twins!
Recognizing that Vijaya needed a safe, happy, and stable environment during her pregnancy, Apna Ghar invited her to extend her stay at the shelter until her babies were born and strong enough to make the transition to independent housing. Vijaya's twins were born six months after she entered our emergency shelter. They came straight from the hospital to the safety of "Our Home." Shelter staff helped Vijaya care for her babies in their first days and even accompanied them to their very first medical appointment. Vijaya's case manager continued to help her find and secure independent housing.
Two months after her twins were born, Vijaya signed the lease to her own apartment. Today, she and her children are living happy, healthy lives.
Farah's Story
Farah came to Apna Ghar after receiving abuse from husband and in-laws. After calling our crisis line, sharing her story, and discussing options with our staff, she took the courageous step to leave her abusive family to come to our emergency shelter, a safe location where her husband could not find her. Her husband’s emotional, financial, physical, and sexual abuse had a deep and lasting traumatic impact on Farah. In addition to physical and emotional abuse, her husband and in-laws kept all the money that she made from employment that she was forced to take and was not given any access to the family’s finances.
When our counselors first met Farah, she presented with severe emotional reactions to reminders of her abusive experiences she endured with her husband, such as palpitations, trouble breathing, and her hands shaking more often than not when she was reminded of her abuse or was in fear of her safety. Farah reported also being on guard most days when she was out and she also had trouble concentrating on day to day interactions. Our counselor safety planned with Farah and provided emotional support as well as domestic violence psycho-education, and present and future planning to achieve her personal goals.
Farah also began working with a legal advocate who further assisted with safety planning and helped her obtain an order of protection against her husband and in-laws. The advocate also helped Farah understand her immigration options. Farah had moved to the United States from Pakistan to marry her now husband, a US citizen. However, as part of the ensuing abuse, he also refused to petition for her to become a US resident. Our advocates explained the self petitioning process under the Violence Against Women Act and helped Farah find an immigration attorney to file the documentation for her.
Throughout her time in the shelter, Farah shared her story with her counselor and processed her trauma. Psycho-educational material on domestic violence (power and control wheel and the cycle of violence) presented by the counselor helped Farah understand the tactics of her abuser and the situation she was in. Narrative therapy helped her restructure her story in a way that spoke to the notions of power and control that alleviated her feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame. Safety planning was a core part of her emotional stability because most of the threats instilled by her husband continued to affect her. Narrative therapy, cognitive behavior therapeutic strategies, and learning more about domestic violence helped Farah identify the core of her symptoms, thoughts and feelings, and think of ways in which she can cope with them.
Farah progressively reported being able to sleep and eat better and not have as many physical or emotional reactions to reminders or triggers of her past. This gave her the opportunity to organize, plan, and execute her personal goals of finding a job, stable housing, and living her life again. Farah took English and computer classes, while looking for jobs. She found a job, and now, lives in an apartment she feels safe and comfortable with. She continues to be in touch with her direct service team at Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) and continues to plan for the next steps in her life.
*Name and identifying details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.
Vijaya* was pregnant when she escaped her abusive partner. Though it was difficult, she knew that leaving was the only way to keep her child safe. Vijaya's first stop was Apna Ghar's emergency shelter. When she arrived at the shelter, Vijaya was welcomed by a case manager. Once she was settled, Vijaya's case manager started helping her access public benefits for prenatal care. She also helped Vijaya identify the services of a free doula to support her during her pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal period. Only a month after entering the shelter, Vijaya found out she was pregnant with twins!
Recognizing that Vijaya needed a safe, happy, and stable environment during her pregnancy, Apna Ghar invited her to extend her stay at the shelter until her babies were born and strong enough to make the transition to independent housing. Vijaya's twins were born six months after she entered our emergency shelter. They came straight from the hospital to the safety of "Our Home." Shelter staff helped Vijaya care for her babies in their first days and even accompanied them to their very first medical appointment. Vijaya's case manager continued to help her find and secure independent housing.
Two months after her twins were born, Vijaya signed the lease to her own apartment. Today, she and her children are living happy, healthy lives.
Farah's Story
Farah came to Apna Ghar after receiving abuse from husband and in-laws. After calling our crisis line, sharing her story, and discussing options with our staff, she took the courageous step to leave her abusive family to come to our emergency shelter, a safe location where her husband could not find her. Her husband’s emotional, financial, physical, and sexual abuse had a deep and lasting traumatic impact on Farah. In addition to physical and emotional abuse, her husband and in-laws kept all the money that she made from employment that she was forced to take and was not given any access to the family’s finances.
When our counselors first met Farah, she presented with severe emotional reactions to reminders of her abusive experiences she endured with her husband, such as palpitations, trouble breathing, and her hands shaking more often than not when she was reminded of her abuse or was in fear of her safety. Farah reported also being on guard most days when she was out and she also had trouble concentrating on day to day interactions. Our counselor safety planned with Farah and provided emotional support as well as domestic violence psycho-education, and present and future planning to achieve her personal goals.
Farah also began working with a legal advocate who further assisted with safety planning and helped her obtain an order of protection against her husband and in-laws. The advocate also helped Farah understand her immigration options. Farah had moved to the United States from Pakistan to marry her now husband, a US citizen. However, as part of the ensuing abuse, he also refused to petition for her to become a US resident. Our advocates explained the self petitioning process under the Violence Against Women Act and helped Farah find an immigration attorney to file the documentation for her.
Throughout her time in the shelter, Farah shared her story with her counselor and processed her trauma. Psycho-educational material on domestic violence (power and control wheel and the cycle of violence) presented by the counselor helped Farah understand the tactics of her abuser and the situation she was in. Narrative therapy helped her restructure her story in a way that spoke to the notions of power and control that alleviated her feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame. Safety planning was a core part of her emotional stability because most of the threats instilled by her husband continued to affect her. Narrative therapy, cognitive behavior therapeutic strategies, and learning more about domestic violence helped Farah identify the core of her symptoms, thoughts and feelings, and think of ways in which she can cope with them.
Farah progressively reported being able to sleep and eat better and not have as many physical or emotional reactions to reminders or triggers of her past. This gave her the opportunity to organize, plan, and execute her personal goals of finding a job, stable housing, and living her life again. Farah took English and computer classes, while looking for jobs. She found a job, and now, lives in an apartment she feels safe and comfortable with. She continues to be in touch with her direct service team at Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) and continues to plan for the next steps in her life.
*Name and identifying details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.