Survivor Success Story - October 2024

Graciela had exhausted all her resources. As a 28-year-old woman with two children, afraid and shaken, she held on to a bit of hope. Graciela called the Rainbow 24-hour hotline because she knew it was time to act.

Graciela made a promise to herself that she would not repeat the cycle of violence with her own children. Her mother had stayed with her abuser, and she refused to allow her children to grow up in a violent environment. She wanted her children to grow up in a healthy and happy home. Graciela had worked hard to support her household; however, her dreams were crushed when her partner, Jose, started abusing her.

The children’s school reported the child abuse, and Graciela shared that Jose had struck their oldest child. She thought, “it is no time for me to think about myself or the pain of having my children live without a father. These are my children; I need to protect them.”

The abuse was growing severely, and she knew they would not survive. In that moment, she made the decision to call Rainbow’s hotline.

She entered the emergency shelter with her children, and trauma-informed staff validated her feelings and gave her space to adjust. Staff supported her journey and assisted with providing childcare along with a variety of other services.

Rainbow provided Graciela with individual counseling, legal services, case management, and support groups. Graciela began to open up and grow in ways she hadn’t anticipated. She learned how to have healthy relationships with the people around her, but most importantly with her children.  

“My children deserve a better life. They have a loving mother who will fight for them until the end. They will never feel alone,” she said. She went back to work, and with Rainbow’s assistance, she was able to move into her own apartment. After all of the barriers she overcame, Graciela and her two children finally have a safe place they can call home.