My mother and I left a sexually abusive household
Donation protected
Hello, I'm Kinsleigh. I'm 19, and I'm currently enrolled at Mitchell Community College. My mother's name is Deborah and she works from home. We have a hamster named Hammy who we love with all our heart.
My mother and I were staying with a close relative, and were planning on buying our own house soon. We enjoyed staying with our relative and were very happy up until about a month and a half ago.
Our relative began touching me inappropriately while my mother was working. Considering she works from home, she's usually on the phones doing tech support, so she was really occupied, and this person knew that she wouldn't walking out of the room without a warning. The touching became more and more inappropriate, but I wasn't sure what to do.
My mother is a recovering addict, and she will be 11 years clean in February. We haven't had the easiest life, but we have always made it work. Even though we were living with our relative, we had rent and it was always paid on time. We both work very hard for what we have. When the touching began, I knew that if I told someone immediately, we would have nowhere to go. I thought I should wait until we got our own house, and then tell my mom so we wouldn't be scared to have nowhere to go. I could tell that my abuser was testing to see how much they could do to me before I finally told. I don't think that they thought I would ever say anything. Apart from sexual abuse, they were also very mentally abusive. I believe that they convinced themselves it was okay to do that to me. I knew I would tell, I just had to wait for the right time.
A few days ago, I was on the phone with my friend, when I accidentally mentioned the abuse. She asked more about it, and I finally broke down and told her what happened. She told me that I had to tell my mother immediately or she was going to go to our house and tell her herself. I messaged my mom, and told her everything. She called the police without hesitation, and we left the same day. Our court date is January 22nd.
As I mentioned, my mother works from home. She cannot work without an Ethernet connection. She's taken time off of work, and we are lucky that her job was nice enough to understand our situation and work with us so when we do get situated, her job will be waiting for her. I start back to school soon, and am currently looking for a job, and so is my mother.
Currently, we are in a 30 day shelter.It's very new, and scary. We are safe here, but it is only temporary.
We're working on getting our own place, but things take time and money. We left both our beds, our tv, desks, and our dog behind. We lost everything we had. All of our memories. Everything but our clothes, electronics, and toiletries. My mother doesn't know I'm making this, but I understand that we do in fact need help, and asking for it isn't always a bad thing. Anything, anything at all could make such a change for us. Support even, talking about the situation really is helpful and therapeutic. It could be anyone, and I hope that if you're in a similar situation, you speak up. Sexual assault is never okay, and nobody should ever have to go through it. I thank everyone for taking the time to read this and listen to our story. We'll always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
My mother and I were staying with a close relative, and were planning on buying our own house soon. We enjoyed staying with our relative and were very happy up until about a month and a half ago.
Our relative began touching me inappropriately while my mother was working. Considering she works from home, she's usually on the phones doing tech support, so she was really occupied, and this person knew that she wouldn't walking out of the room without a warning. The touching became more and more inappropriate, but I wasn't sure what to do.
My mother is a recovering addict, and she will be 11 years clean in February. We haven't had the easiest life, but we have always made it work. Even though we were living with our relative, we had rent and it was always paid on time. We both work very hard for what we have. When the touching began, I knew that if I told someone immediately, we would have nowhere to go. I thought I should wait until we got our own house, and then tell my mom so we wouldn't be scared to have nowhere to go. I could tell that my abuser was testing to see how much they could do to me before I finally told. I don't think that they thought I would ever say anything. Apart from sexual abuse, they were also very mentally abusive. I believe that they convinced themselves it was okay to do that to me. I knew I would tell, I just had to wait for the right time.
A few days ago, I was on the phone with my friend, when I accidentally mentioned the abuse. She asked more about it, and I finally broke down and told her what happened. She told me that I had to tell my mother immediately or she was going to go to our house and tell her herself. I messaged my mom, and told her everything. She called the police without hesitation, and we left the same day. Our court date is January 22nd.
As I mentioned, my mother works from home. She cannot work without an Ethernet connection. She's taken time off of work, and we are lucky that her job was nice enough to understand our situation and work with us so when we do get situated, her job will be waiting for her. I start back to school soon, and am currently looking for a job, and so is my mother.
Currently, we are in a 30 day shelter.It's very new, and scary. We are safe here, but it is only temporary.
We're working on getting our own place, but things take time and money. We left both our beds, our tv, desks, and our dog behind. We lost everything we had. All of our memories. Everything but our clothes, electronics, and toiletries. My mother doesn't know I'm making this, but I understand that we do in fact need help, and asking for it isn't always a bad thing. Anything, anything at all could make such a change for us. Support even, talking about the situation really is helpful and therapeutic. It could be anyone, and I hope that if you're in a similar situation, you speak up. Sexual assault is never okay, and nobody should ever have to go through it. I thank everyone for taking the time to read this and listen to our story. We'll always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
Organizer
Kinsleigh Broome
Organizer
Statesville, NC
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