Survivor Success Stories – December 2023

Caroline and Mark, the father of her child, had a strong relationship when they first started dating. Caroline was happy, social, and had a great job. Unfortunately, as time progressed, Caroline’s relationship with Mark changed; Mark’s behavior quickly became erratic and uncontrollable. Caroline recalls that Mark began showing up to her place of work unannounced and unprovoked.  This caused Caroline to feel extremely distressed and eventually forced her to resign from her job.  

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Caroline shared that not long after, their relationship turned violent, and she began to fear for herself and her son. During the last incident, Mark attacked Caroline, prompting her to lock herself and her son in the bathroom. This only fueled Mark’s uncontrollable anger and he ended up hurting their son. Understanding that the situation had become dire, Caroline reached out to Rainbow in hopes of finding safe shelter and support.  

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Caroline and her son arrived at Rainbow’s emergency shelter and started the process of therapy, case management, and group sessions. She was quickly referred to Rainbow’s in-house legal team and in less than three weeks after her arrival, the legal team helped Caroline obtain a restraining order against Mark and full custody of her child. Caroline was so grateful and relieved!  

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While at shelter, Caroline found it difficult to come to terms with the extent of the abuse that she and her child had suffered. Caroline now acknowledges the severity Mark’s abusive behavior and has stopped blaming herself for the pain they endured. She is thankful that she and her child are now safe and are now more resilient than ever.

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Caroline has applied for transitional housing and is in the process of finding work so she can continue providing for her son. Her progress and commitment to bettering her and her son’s life has been an inspiration to staff and fellow survivors.

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