32-year-old Celeste lived with physical, emotional and financial abuse. Her boyfriend controlled all aspects of her life, even requiring that her paycheck go directly to him. “I felt trapped because I couldn’t be myself. My mental health was down the drain,” she says. Law enforcement was called when the abuse escalated to strangulation.

Thanks to you and your generosity, Celeste received safe shelter and all the support she needed – physical, legal and emotional – to permanently escape from her abuser and start a new life free of violence.

The law enforcement officers responding to Celeste’s call contacted our on-call Intimate Partner Abuse advocate to accompany Celeste to a Strangulation Forensic Exam. After the exam, Celeste was able to stay at our confidential shelter for several weeks. She was assisted in filing a restraining order against her boyfriend and his parents (who had also abused her the night her boyfriend was arrested). She received counseling, legal advocacy, accompaniment to medical and court appointments, and more.

Initially, Celeste was extremely fearful and nervous about everything that was going on. She had arrived in the U.S. with her boyfriend just few months prior and, being new to the country, she didn’t understand how the criminal court system worked. She asked a lot of questions but trusted that we’d be able to help her.

Celeste was referred to our transitional housing program for survivors of intimate partner abuse and received support for her political asylum case through our Legal Advocacy and Empowerment program. Throughout all of this, Celeste felt most grateful to have a roof over her head, food and basic necessities, and the continuous court accompaniment support.

“I [had] learned to be economically and socially dependent. I had to adapt to a new way of life,” she says. “If a woman decides to leave her abuser, she can become empowered enough to make her own life decisions. With a team like Community Solutions, it can be done. Community Solutions is like the family behind every woman who decides to leave an abusive marriage/relationship.”

Celeste adds, “I now know how to love myself which is something I struggled with when I was with my ex-boyfriend. I learned to be financially independent and how to manage my finances. My focus now is on myself and my daughter, who I know needs me.”

Thanks to you and your support, Celeste is safe and thriving today, and free to move forward in her life with confidence.

Thank you for making such a difference for Celeste and for helping so many other survivors escape abuse and start new lives free of violence. What a gift!