Stories

  • Stories

    I Remember

    I Remember… I remember, as a child, Hiding in the dark closet with my sisters and brothers, Unable to block out the sounds of my father beating my mother. We would cry and pray together, asking God to make it stop. It never did….. It never did….. Now, 28 years later, when I talk about it, I still feel that helplessness and fear. I see the house, the closet. I feel huddled up with six kids in the closet… Crying quietly. My Mom screams… My father yells… The crashing sounds… Deep terror… Feeling it was our fault somehow. We all paid for it in our adult lives. Not one of…

  • Stories

    One Survivor’s Story

    I had been hesitant for four years to tell anyone I was in an abusive relationship. He verbally, mentally, emotionally and financially abused me. The moment he threatened to take my kid away from me was the moment I knew I had to take action. I never knew there were services in town that helped with situations like mine. I had felt trapped and when I had heard about it through a friend who had used the Alliance before, I decided to go down there to see what they could do for me. The Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance helped me get back on my feet to being me again.…