
Be a Voice for
Your Community
Support takes many shapes. Find ways to get involved with fundraising, advocacy, partnership and many other opportunities to facilitate healing and begin to empower survivors on their journey.
TRAININGS
40-Hour Domestic Violence Advocate Training
Offered biannually in the Spring and Fall, this relationship violence training is ideal for those seeking employment or volunteer experience with a relationship violence organization in California. All hotline volunteers are mandated by the State of California to complete this series before being eligible to volunteer. Upon completion you will receive a certification as mandated by California Evidence Code Section 1037.1.
For information on upcoming trainings, please contact our Prevention Education department at [email protected]

VOLUNTEER
Due to the confidential nature of our work, volunteer opportunities are focused on emergency hotline volunteers, teen volunteers, and/or attorneys interested in providing pro bono legal services in the areas of Family Law and Immigration.
Awareness Campaigns
Through a variety of awareness programs, we engage the community in activities focused on the many different issues associated with relationship violence.


FEBRUARY
Teen Dating Violence Prevention Month
CAREERS
Job Opportunities
At Human Options, we are committed to a supportive work environment where employees care deeply about making positive changes in the lives of our clients—and each other. Join a team of people dedicated to breaking the cycle of relationship violence by fostering a community of health and support for survivors of trauma.


Our Stories
The team at Human Options is dedicated to the mission of helping prevent relationship violence. Together, we’ll continue working towards creating a society where every person in Orange County lives a life free from fear.

Adrienne was living with her newly wedded husband prior to coming to Human Options. She thought married life was going to fun and happy. They had just gotten married a few months prior when her husband began being verbally and physically abusive. Adrienne and her husband lived with her husband’s cousin who was battling addiction with drugs. Adrienne mentioned she did not know if her husband was using as well but had suspicions he was especially when he was abusing her. Her husband would go through the cycle of being abusive and then loving towards her right after. After experiencing the cycle of violence repeatedly, Adrienne could not continue living the cycle any longer and decided she needed to leave; so, she fled from the county she was living in and found safety through Human Option’s emergency shelter.
While at shelter, Adrienne was very active and involved with the support and healing provided to her. She was very open to the services offered from legal to case management to therapeutic groups. She took a part in whatever she could. Adrienne worked with her legal advocate to file a restraining order and attended legal workshops to expand her knowledge about her rights.
Adrienne transformed from being very timid, to more vocal and outspoken. From the beginning she had a great drive for change, but throughout her time at shelter, she began the healing process and began to change and become more confident. She seemed more upbeat and happier as she accomplished her goals one at a time. When something did not work out the way she planned, she found a different option and went on to accomplish that. She truly showed her commitment to the program and herself to make change and maintain her safety. Adrienne was able to get into another program during her time at shelter and she was very excited for the opportunity. The amount of growth and healing Adrienne experienced was tremendous and was able to see for herself all that she was able to achieve. Adrienne’s story truly shows how much change can happen in such a short amount of time with the right support and access to care.

Lauren, a mother of four children, entered Human Options’ emergency shelter after making the brave decision to leave her husband after facing years of abuse. In her attempt to flee their violent home, Lauren’s four children were taken by CPS due to witnessing the severity of the domestic violence incident inflected on Lauren from her abuser.
Lauren quickly got to work while she was at the emergency shelter to provide everything she needed to secure a safe future for her children. During her marriage, Lauren experienced financial abuse in which her husband made her responsible for all their expenses, including accumulating thousands of dollars in past due rent. Working closely with her case managers and housing navigator, Lauren was able to get her finances in order and identify a plan to pay off her rental arrears with the assistance of the Acceleration Fund; removing barriers preventing Lauren from securing permanent housing. All her hard work paid off as she was able to secure a 3-bedroom condominium through an Emergency Housing Voucher.
Experiencing foster care, teenage pregnancy and domestic violence all before Lauren was 24 years old, she was determined to break the cycle of abuse for her children. During her time in the emergency shelter, Lauren was able to enroll in therapy and participate in Personal Empowerment classes. For the first time in her life, Lauren expressed that she was able to learn about what healthy relationships are and pass that onto her children.
Through your support, Lauren and her children were able to move into their new home just in time for the holidays. She is now empowered to continue therapy for herself and her children on their journey of healing and looks forward to reconnecting with her community to build a support system.

Veronica had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her son’s father when she was 15 years old. The abuse continued from verbal to emotional and Veronica had no control over her life and body. She became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to her son Gavin. Veronica knew this would be no life to build for Gavin. During a violent incident, Veronica’s partner grabbed her by the chest and pushed her onto the wall. He shouted at Veronica to leave his home and that she better not be there when he got back. Veronica knew that those threats were not empty words. In the past he had threatened to kill her and “dispose of her body” where nobody would ever find her. Scared and unsure of what he would do to her she packed her things and left the home with her son. Veronica walked to the police station to report the abuse, but the officers were unable to help. Unsure of where to go with her son she walked to a park where a woman told her about the CHEC Family Resource Center. Veronica entered the CHEC Family Resource Center where she found safety for her and her son for the first time in a long time. She got help from a family support advocate who helped her in receiving a couple of nights at a motel until she could get into an emergency shelter. Through the collaborative work that Human Options provides through the Family Resource Centers, Veronica was connected with our Legal Advocacy Supervisor who was able to support in getting Veronica and Gavin to our emergency shelter. At the shelter, Veronica participated in the Personal Empowerment Program (PEP), counseling, case management, and legal advocacy. Through legal advocacy Veronica learned about her rights and felt empowered to file a police report against her Gavin’s father. Veronica also filed a Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order (DVTRO) and obtained a one-year order against Gavin’s father. Through the DVTRO Veronica obtained full legal and physical custody of Gavin. Veronica attended an immigration clinic where she learned about her rights and her son’s. Over the last several months Veronica has overcome her fear of the outside world. She started to use public transportation, something she was afraid of when she entered the shelter. Veronica’s next steps are to find employment to provide a better life for her and Gavin. She is continuing with our services and support in hopes to find permanent housing for her and her son in the near future. “I have to do this, I can’t be afraid all the time, I can do this.“ – Veronica, Mother, Survivor |

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.

57 year old Dawn was recently widowed and a retired teacher, with 2 sons and dealing with chronic health issues. She has her own apartment and her youngest adult son lives with her while attending college. She thought she could manage her health and begin to work through her grief from losing her husband, but Dawn was being verbally abused by one of her adult son’s.
Dawn’s oldest adult son Luke, lives out of state but has been blaming her for his father’s death and continues to threaten and harass her over the phone. Dawn blocked his calls, but before she did, he told her he would be coming into town “for a visit”. Dawn was extremely upset by this news because she feels her son has an undiagnosed mental illness and is worried about what he will do to her or her other son if he comes to her apartment. To add to her worries she was scared of losing her housing because if he came he would create problems for her and her neighbors.
In complete distress and fear, Dawn walked into the Human Options Business Office in crisis, in need to speak to someone immediately. Dawn was offered crisis counseling and safety planning. Once with Human Options, Dawn and her therapist developed a safety plan to keep her and her son safe. Dawn started to attend the Senior Empowerment Group, where started getting educated on the abuse and received support from other group members. Week after week, Dawn began to feel empowered and came to the conclusion that the abuse was not her fault nor did she deserve it. Dawn was thankful for the counseling and support she received from the group. Dawn thanked Human Options for all of the help she received and stated she felt more prepared and empowered after receiving services.
“I am no longer afraid of the power my son had over me, because he does not have it any more. I can finally move forward and begin the heal.” – Dawn, Wife, Mother, Survivor

Mia had been separated from her children for a year who were previously living at Orangewood Children’s Home, due to the extreme violence occurring in the home from their father. Mia knew that to get her children back she had to leave their father. Upon entering our emergency shelter, Mia had been working on reunifying with her four children, Mila, Derrick, Jayden, and Austin. When the kids finally arrived at our shelter, they were all dysregulated, had low self-esteem, and struggled to express their needs. There was also constant bickering and tension between the siblings. However, Mia has been able to provide stability and emotional support for her children throughout their stay at Human Options. Her kids have shown improvement in requesting for space, expressing their emotions, and self-regulating whenever they feel upset. Children’s Program have noticed they have become more confident in themselves and are able to persevere instead of giving up when an activity is too difficult. Additionally, they have constantly verbalized to staff how happy they are to be at Second Step and have learned to demonstrate compassion for one another by sharing toys, helping each other with tasks, and cheering up their siblings when they are feeling sad.
Furthermore, Mia’s school-aged children, Mila and Derrick, are both excelling in their academic studies. Mila was chosen as student of the month in her class and Derrick worked hard every day at school to make sure his project was ready in time to be put on display for Back-to-School night. When Mia’s family attended the event, Derrick proudly showed off his work and received positive feedback from both his teacher and peers.
“I never thought I would see my children smile again but now I have hope and know that we will be just fine.” – Mia, Survivor & Mother

When Cindy married her husband at age 19, she would have never imagined what the next 50 years with her husband would be like. Her husband would call her names, threaten her with weapons, and demean her in front of friends and family. Growing up in a strong Catholic family, Cindy did not believe in divorce. Cindy married with the intent to be “a good wife and mother”, but did not understand it meant she had to endure her husband’s behavior and abuse….til’ death do they part?
Cindy is 69 years old, scared, alone, and living in darkness. She attempted to get help once 15 years ago when she called the police, but instead of getting the help and support she needed, her daughter refused to believe her and would not let her grandchildren come over to visit anymore. From that experience Cindy learned not to tell anyone what was really going on behind closed doors. But over time, neighbors kept calling and reporting her husband’s behavior to the police and Adult Protective Services.
Finally after numerous reports and visits from socials workers , Cindy decided to attend a Senior Empowerment Group from our Safe Options for Seniors Program. Cindy figured it would be a good opportunity to leave the house for a few hours every week . She listened to a group of her peers explain the abuse they experienced and could relate. She slowly began opening up and sharing what she had been going through. She received feedback from group members telling her she did not need to live the way she was. After attending several sessions, Cindy finally admitted she did not want be in her abusive marriage anymore and was ready to get a divorce. She was supported by her peers in the group who gave her many words of encouragement and practical advice. Through support and the various services available to her Cindy was able to change her story.
Cindy is 69 years old, strong, resilient, and finally moving forward with her divorce and has not looked back since making the decision to leave. She credits her decision to the education and support from the groups she attended at Human Options.
“Thank you to Human Options for helping me to heal and learn how to live again. ” – Cindy, Mother & Survivor

Thirty-six year old Ellie endured a traumatic three-year relationship with the father of her youngest child. Ellie experienced brutal physical and verbal abuse along with the destruction of her property from time to time. Ellie and her children were able to escape and ready to transition into the next step for safety. Ellie and her four children came to Second Step in hopes to create stability and safety for her and her children.
When Ellie started Second Step, she was on medical leave from her job as a case manager at a medical company. Her disability resulted from her relationship. Shortly after starting the Second Step program, Ellie had to testify against her aggressor, which increased her distress and anxiety. Through the services available to her through the Second Step program, Ellie began individual therapy to work on the trauma she had suffered from her ex-partner.
Ellie attended almost all the groups offered at Second Step. While she was gaining education on financial literacy, job readiness, tenant education rights, and therapeutic groups, her children were attending the therapeutic children’s program. All of her children learned how to express their emotions in a nonviolent manner. Ellie’s resilience to get the support she needed allowed her to stay focused on her goal of creating stability and safety from her ex-partner for her children. Ellie and her four children transitioned to Third Step and shortly after was offered an affordable housing opportunity through Families Forward.
“If it were not for the services, groups, and time provided by Human Options, I might have still been in that dark and dangerous relationship. Now my children have a chance towards a better well-being and life.” – Ellie, Survivor

Dear Human Options,
My name is Kim and I had great support from Human Option in 2006 due to domestic violence. I was really in need during that time. I remember I didn’t know how to use phone in the public phone booth, I could not drive, I did not know how to use a taxi, I was not comfortable in English…and most important I did not know my rights. Until I found Human Options.
With help from a friend, I was able to find an opening in Human Options even though was living in a different county. I still vividly remember the first day that I was escorted by the Policeman the the door at the emergency shelter.
I had gone through and completed all the programs. After that, about a year or so, I was able to stand by myself. Luckily I was able to continue my career as a computer engineer and now I could continue my career in San Francisco.
After I met the right person, I realized how the good marriage life should be and I realized how horrible monster I had lived with was. I was unaware about my rights, and how I had been mistreated by the monster. But I was able to get help and leave.
Thank you for all Human Option’s support in the past and in my most difficult times!
– Kim, Survivor

Thinking that dating after abuse was impossible, Miranda found love and hope once more. After five years of breaking free from her abusive partner, Miranda thought she and her children were finally free from all the trauma they endured and could start over. Until one night, her abusive partner showed up to Miranda’s new home, threatening to kill her and her new partner. Miranda’s way for safety was to obtain a Restraining Order.
Miranda called the South Orange County Family Resource Center seeking help from one of our Legal Advocates. In the past, Miranda had attempted to obtain a Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order (DVTRO) against her ex-partner, but because he was aware of the DVTRO, he would avoid service and Miranda was never able to serve him. Human Options’ Legal Advocacy team met with Miranda remotely and referred her to O’Melveney & Myers, a law firm that at times provide free legal assistance to Human Option’s clients. With O’Melveney’s attorney’s assistance, he was ultimately served and Miranda was able to get protection for her and her children.
Miranda was able to obtain a five-year DVRO against her ex-partner and full legal and physical custody of her children. Since Miranda was a victim of crime, she was educated on the U-Visa process, a form of immigration relief that was established for victims of crimes including domestic violence. One of the requirements to apply for the U-Visa is that the crime was reported to law enforcement and the victim cooperated with the investigation. Our Legal Advocate assisted Miranda to obtain a copy of her police report so she could attend an immigration clinic. At the clinic, she learned she qualified for the U-Visa, which she is now continuing to work towards, while she is back on the journey to healing with her children, and in a healthy relationship with her new partner.
“I didn’t think I would ever be able to move forward with my life. Human Options’ Legal Advocacy program saved my children and I from danger. I can confidently walk out my home and live my life with my new partner and safe children. ”
– Miranda, Mother & Survivor
Interested in sharing your story?
We’d love to hear from you.
Events
Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month (TDVAPM)
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month (TDVAPM), and this 2023 at Human Options, we are getting ready to launch our awareness campaign in hopes to engage our […]
8th Annual Love Shouldn’t Hurt: Teen Conference
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month (TDVAPM), and this 2023 at Human Options, we are launching our TDVAPM awareness campaign in hopes to engage our teens, families, […]
Sisterhood
Join us for our first Sisterhood of the year! Help us keep 40 families safe from DV this April! Sisterhood is an opportunity for the community to come together to […]
40 Hour Domestic Violence Advocate Training
Join us for our virtual 40-Hour Domestic Violence Advocate Training. A 40-hour state mandated workshop for anyone wishing to work with victims of domestic violence, or to expand their knowledge […]
Serious Fun Gala 2023
Join us for our Serious Fun 2023 Gala! Saturday, May 20, 2023 Balboa Bay Resort 1221 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, California 92663 We'll be celebrating Dove Honoree Diane Biagianti! […]
Sisterhood
Sisterhood is comprised of people who support Human Options by creating heartfelt, hands-on projects to benefit the individuals and children in our emergency shelter and residential programs. Our event will […]
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Email us at [email protected]
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Be a Voice for
Your Community
Support takes many shapes. Find ways to get involved with fundraising, advocacy partnership and many other opportunities to strengthen healing and begin to empower survivors on their journey.