Coral endured a brutally abusive marriage of over 25 years. Her only memories of the marriage were years of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse. Coral was broken. She had extremely low self-esteem and wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.
Her only escape to safety was during an incident when a neighbor called the police after Coral was badly beaten up. The police arrested her partner and gave Coral an Emergency Protective Order and DV resources in her community. She was connected with Minnie Street and Corbin Family Resource Centers to get help. She was quickly able to enroll in our Legal Advocacy services having limited to no knowledge about her rights or the resources available to her two children. She admitted that she felt non-existent and had no knowledge of how to help herself or her children.
In the beginning the Coral was adamant that she did not want a divorce or a restraining order because she was concerned her children would hate her. The advocate provided her with education on safety planning, housing rights, custody, divorce, and restraining order. After working with the Legal Advocate for a month she decided she wanted a divorce.
Coral is now in the process of finalizing her divorce. Although it was a difficult decision to make, Coral knew it was necessary step to reclaim her power and made a powerful decision and requested a DVRO on her own. After working with the Legal Advocate and learning about her rights, Coral’s self-esteem started to improved. She started to make eye contact with the Legal Advocate. She even declined needing court accompaniment when she wanted to file a DVRO and told the advocate that she felt “strong enough to do what I know I have to do”. Coral may have a long road to go but she knows she is not alone, and she recognizes that she has the tools to be successful.
