Andrea connected with LifeWire last year through our partnership with Open Arms Perinatal Services. Her partner had physically abused her throughout the first two trimesters of her pregnancy and began beating her again shortly after giving birth.
Andrea wanted to leave, but she needed somewhere to go. LifeWire connected Andrea with a local shelter. The temporary housing gave her time to find a place to stay with friends. Andrea agreed to cook, clean, and take care of their kids in exchange for room and board.
Things were going well for Andrea and her two kids until the COVID-19 crisis. The family Andrea lived with suffered a big financial setback when one parent lost a job and the other lost hours. They asked Andrea and her kids to leave, but Andrea didn’t have any place to go.
Her ex begged Andrea to come back, promising that he had changed and this time would be different. The physical abuse started a month later, but this time Andrea’s partner also began attacking her 14-year-old son from a previous relationship. He even refused to let Andrea celebrate her son’s birthday and took the money she saved for a gift. When Andrea asked her abuser to leave her son alone, he became angry and called the police to evict them.
When the police arrived, they told him that Washington had protections to protect people from eviction during the COVID-19 crisis. They let Andrea know she should call if he assaulted her. Once the police left, Andrea’s partner became angrier and told her to behave, or she would pay for it. Andrea stayed in the kids’ room to protect herself and her kids, only coming out during the rare times he left.
Two weeks ago, Andrea reached out to her LifeWire advocate. Together they put created a new safety plan and strategized ways for her to leave. Fortunately, LifeWire’s emergency shelter, My Sister’s Home, had an opening, and earlier this week, Andrea found out she and her kids can move in. Andrea has plans in place to leave while her abuser is running errands.
Andrea is excited to move into LifeWire’s shelter. While the change is a little scary, Andrea is ready to reach her goals of becoming self-reliant and live peacefully, especially since she knows she will get the reliable support she needs along the way.
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