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SHARING STORIES OF HOPE
For every sad statistic involving someone who wasn't able to escape an abusive situation, there is also a success story that ends in triumph, rather than tragedy. Those are the endings we strive to write!
Previous shelter residents share their personal testimonials about what HOPE HARBOUR means to them, and how there is always HOPE.
“All of the other women took me under their wing like an older sister or daughter, and I loved it. I've never had so much love in my life."
"I entered the shelter following a domestic dispute between my long-term boyfriend of five years and myself. During my time at Hope Harbour, I have been able to become productive and progressive in building myself up. I have been able to work on my self esteem, mental and physical health, and familiarize myself with available resources within the shelter and my community. Hope Harbour created a safe haven for me to be successful. My Family Victim Violence Advocate (FVVA) gave me the extra push I needed to help myself. She was a listening ear, an encourager, and a helpmate. She gave me the strength and guided me. Working with her and being here helped me to see that I could live my daily life without a need for a partner or substances to validate my life. I have the choice to be great, take care of myself and live happy. The allowed time at Hope Harbour has helped me to settle myself. I now look forward to getting up every day and doing something positive instead of sulking in my own mess. My goals are set: get healthy, get stable, and get to living. I am happy to say that I have completed my process here! I will be moving into my own place. In order to continue with the outreach program, my counseling and use the tools that I have been given to be productive. I pray, meditate, and put one foot in front of the other and LIVE. I can't change the past, but I can create a better future thanks to Hope Harbour and my FVVA!"
"My stay at Hope Harbour was short. In that short time, I was able to accomplish so much. It amazes me that my accomplishments were done in such a short time. The support and services that were offered were beyond any expectation that I had. The push and drive the staff and my advocates gave me was done in a positive manner that the resistance in my demeanor had changed. I flourished. I became that butterfly. I am worthy of love. I am beautiful. I do matter. I thank Hope Harbour from the bottom of my heart for showing me that change is possible. I can and will be self sufficient. The services offered were a God send. I know so many different services available to myself and other's that I didn't know were available. I have so much to say about my success that I could write for hours! Thanks to Hope Harbour for showing me that sometimes we all need someone to point us in the right direction. My success story is not over! My growth shall continue. I owe a major part of my success to the staff, my advocate, the residents and of course myself!"
"It was an amazing and different journey at Hope Harbour. I met so many different women. I would have never thought I would've been there. My abuser left me with nothing but a broken heart and scars for the rest of my life. I've never been to a shelter before, but I enjoyed my stay. It's been times where I'll come home from work and be so sad and down and the women will try everything just to uplift my spirit and make sure I'm okay. I'm the youngest here that is on my own. All of the older women took me under their wing like a little sister or daughter and I loved it. I've never had so much love in my life. It's taught me so much having a place help me get back off my feet after a traffic accident. I've never imagined an abuse shelter would help me like this one. They made sure we got back on our feet and kept us updated on everything. They let us have a home feeling. They made sure we kept it clean and neat and made sure we treated it like our own home. This place really helped me grow as an adult from being so young and an expectant mother. I'm excited and grateful for this journey there."
"When I first entered Hope Harbour I was very depressed because I had to start all over. My children have been through so much, but they gave me the strength I needed to come and get my life back. Some nights I would cry my eyes out because I didn't believe I could start over again since I have more than once. I felt as though this was my last and final chance given by God to get it right. Once I stopped crying, I cleaned my face and was determined to get my life in order. First with my advocate, I wrote down all my goals and one by one I completed them all. I am just so thankful for every opportunity that was given to me and what all the staff has done for me. I am truly thankful for the groups that I had there with me. They helped me with a lot of things I needed as far as self-awareness. I was reminded of who I am. Again, I am truly grateful for my job, my apartment, and all the things I achieved while being at Hope Harbour. I hope that I am able to leave some kind of example behind for the other ladies there."
This is the story of Katina, a domestic violence survivor and past Hope Harbour client. After enduring a significant amount of physical and emotional abuse, Katina found herself at Hope Harbour. Katina was able to find hope and joy after receiving services through Hope Harbour.
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