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Emergency Shelter -- Maria |
Maria was referred by a low-income housing
agency. She has been on their list for awhile and was still about one
month away from having her home. Her batterer was verbally, physically,
and monetarily abusive. She was employed, but he consistently took her
money to use for drugs. In addition, the woman was supposed to be on
medications for a mental health disorder but her batterer kept hiding
and destroying the medications to keep her more helpless. Maria was
stabilized on her medications within a week of coming to Gateway
Battered Women’s Shelter (GBWS). She received many individual and group
counseling sessions about domestic violence dynamics, surviving
domestic violence and independent living skills. Maria had a two-year
old child that had been placed in foster care by Social Services.
Maria’s long term goal was to establish a safe home environment and
work through the program to be reunited with her child. After 34 days,
the housing agency provided Maria with the apartment she had been
waiting for. In a tearful goodbye, she promised to stay in touch with
the GBWS counselors. Six months later she called to let us know she had
indeed been reunited with her son.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, June 09 2007 )
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Client Stories 
