Help Us Rebuild

My name is Eileen, and I'm a domestic abuse survivor. I was never a person that thought I would find myself in that position, but before I realized what was happening, I was left with no escape. I told myself I was staying to protect my kids, which was true for awhile, but it reached a point where I was not enough to stop the violence from reaching my kids.

We are safe now, and working to stay that way. But in the meantime, we are struggling to rebuild after all the layers and years of abuse. Those who have no experience with this always ask why anyone would stay in an abusive situation, the clearest answer is that we know the abuse will never stop, the abuser will always find ways to extend their reach of abuse even when not in physical proximity.

I filled for divorce. In the last year plus, my abuser cleared and closed all bank accounts leaving us with no access to any resources. He stole silver out of the house and I have record of him selling it. The silver was purchased with life insurance money from two stillborn children I delivered. He illegally refinanced my vehicle out of my name. I have been in communication with the CEO's office for months, they are livid, but he still managed to do it. USAA has held my title for over a year and can't file it. They confirmed he illegally tried to have my name removed from the title, but the state denied it. The fact he even tried shows that he truly believes he should be able to get away with all his wrong doing. He refuses medical fees, dental fees, and orthodontic costs for both children. He refuses any extra curricular expenses and has gotten out of paying any education costs for the kids through their high school years, my youngest is still in grade school.

There is light at the end of the tunnel but I'm working to get over the hurdles we are currently facing. I was on SNAP, which was helping with food costs, but due to my income now, I am roughly $200 over what is considered poverty level by the state and I don't qualify for food assistance right now unless I stop working. Which is not an option. I'm working toward getting through this hard time.

I've been told it's time to tell my story, so that it can give strength to others in similar situations, and if I ask for help, there may be people out there that are willing to contribute to help my children and I rebuild our lives. I'm so grateful to be working full-time, in addition to part-time and seasonal jobs. At any given point I'm working up to three or four jobs just to make ends meet. My children have been through so much, they deserve to keep some sense of "normal", and I work every day to try and maintain that, even though they have had so much taken from them.

It's been a lot to revisit, and difficult facing my failures in the process of getting out of an abusive situation, and how long it took. Reading all the police reports, and seeing photos of my injuries that the police took was very hard. I'm reaching out, I'm asking for help. If you can, please help my family.

I'm looking to pay off both children's braces, pay off the credit card we were living off of, pay attorney fees, and hopefully have a place to live. If 500 people could chip in $20, it would change our lives.

Thank you!