Anonymous Survivor, entered services at Home Free in April 2023
My daughter and I left the state of Texas in our attempt to escape domestic violence, that had been occurring for many years of my life. I left with plans on caring for my father who was placed on hospice and was dying of prostate cancer. While all these things were transpiring in my life, I was verbally, physically, and emotionally abused by a long-term boyfriend. I was taunted for packing up my whole life to go do a good deed for my father. And still we left. We arrived in Portland, Oregon two days after my father passed away.
I have family here, as well as being born and raised in Portland. But I lost communication and knew the town very little since moving to Texas for college in 2004. Once here, I grew weary and lost faith. This was the last thing I could ever have imagined myself to be going through and to be experiencing all on top of the domestic abuse. Losing someone dear to me, in my head thinking this can’t be true. But I somehow managed to bury my father with the help of his Muslimic friends and put him in the ground three days after passing.
I continued to receive threatening phone calls in the midst of my suffering. I not only had feelings of emptiness and sadness, but now no one to lean on. I felt scared, nervous, and afraid because I didn’t want to return to the abuse, so I slept in my father’s car. Each day I was trying to figure it out for myself and my daughter. I needed peace of mind on what to do next. My father had left us nothing besides a car and storage full of miscellaneous items.
"...hope arrived at my corner when I was able to speak with VOA Oregon
Despite my challenging circumstances, I remained optimistic. I knew there had to be a brighter side. I called around the whole of Portland looking for resources, including Call to Safety and several shelters, until hope arrived at my corner when I was able to speak with VOA Oregon. They placed me on a wait-list. I waited patiently and staff member Shannon followed up with me weekly. I couch surfed for eight months and absolutely hated it. I once wanted to commit suicide, but a voice told me to ‘hold on a little bit longer’ and ‘you and your child will be comfortable soon.’
VOA Oregon is the best thing that could ever have happened to me and my daughter. They have saved the day and saved my life. They rescued us from homelessness. Not only that, but I feel like I was placed in a very luxurious apartment where it is designed only for us. Words cannot express the kindness and gratitude that I have for VOA Oregon. My greatest leaders and the only support system that I have, Shannon and Alondra, have walked me down the path of success. I have had a wonderful experience with being helped and getting my life back on track. VOA Oregon has helped me, assisted me in paying back old debt, and to move away from previous hardship. It has set me on solid ground, and I am now housed and extremely overwhelmed with joy. Now me and my daughter can sleep and have rest at night. No more restless nights, pain, and hurt. I feel safe and free of all domestic disputes. I feel like VOA Oregon has been an umbrella, while the rain has showered over my life for such a long period of time. The sun is now shining, and I cannot put the words together even in this statement.
I give all encouragement and hope for brighter days for people that are experiencing homelessness as well as domestic violence because there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. My life would be nothing without VOA Oregon. Last but not least, they are also giving me a head start towards working on credit goals, mental health goals, financial goals, employment goals, and just a space for me to be an overall healthy human being. I hope that one day once I get back to work, I will be able to give all the resources back to more than 10 plus people and families, women and children. My wish is that this story of hope has helped someone and will give someone some positivity to look forward to.