Treena still keeps the car keys by the door.
She began doing this when she was planning how to leave.
For years, Treena lived with escalating violence. There were threats. There was sexualized abuse. One night, he wrapped his hands around her neck and strangled her. In that moment, she understood something many survivors come to know. Leaving requires courage, and it also requires surviving what happens next.
Treena has two young children, a two-year-old and a five-year-old. Like many mothers living with violence, she worried about what would happen to them if she tried to escape.
She eventually found the courage to leave. Six weeks later, he started showing up again.
He appeared at the grocery store where Treena worked. Sometimes he brought flowers. Sometimes small gifts. He said he was sorry. He said he wanted his family back. Treena recognized the danger behind those gestures.
A co-worker told her about Battered Women’s Support Services, and she called our crisis line. She was assigned a support worker and a legal advocate.
A legal advocate helped her apply for a family law protection order so she and her children could have clear boundaries and some measure of safety.
The order was meant to protect Treena and her children. However, her former husband ignored it. He violated the rules around child exchanges. He continued appearing in places connected to Treena. When she contacted the police, she was told that officers did not believe they should enforce the order because it was a family law matter, and he had not done anything beyond showing up.
Treena knew the danger was real. Our team knew it as well.
The warning signs were clear. Treena had survived strangulation. She had received repeated death threats. The harassment increased after the separation. Each time he appeared unexpectedly, the risk grew. When Treena called us again, she was frightened that the situation was escalating and no one was taking it seriously.
This is where someone like you makes a difference.
Because of someone like you, a frontline support worker listened carefully and confirmed that Treena was not imagining the danger. She helped Treena understand what escalation can look like and what steps could strengthen her safety.
Because of someone like you, a support worker advocated for Treena to ensure the protection order was taken seriously. Documents were reviewed. The warning signs were placed clearly in front of the people responsible for acting on them.
Because of someone like you, our team continued advocating until the situation was reviewed more closely.
After continued advocacy from our team, the protection order was finally enforced.
Treena’s former husband was arrested and charged under the Criminal Code, including assault and uttering threats. Treena and her children are safer today. None of this happened by chance.
Because of someone like you, Treena had people standing beside her when the danger escalated, and someone recognized the warning signs before it was too late.
Every day, women across our community face situations like Treena’s. The warning signs of serious violence are present, yet too often, survivors are left to face those dangers alone.
Your support ensures that when survivors reach out, someone is ready to listen, advocate, and act.
Because of someone like you, survivors receive crisis support, legal advocacy, and safety planning when they need it most.
Leaving violence rarely happens in a single moment. It is a process that requires courage, support, and people willing to stand beside survivors when the path to safety becomes complicated.
Treena had that support.
The next woman who calls us should have it too.
Please make your donation today to help ensure that when a woman like Treena reaches out for help, someone is there to answer. Your gift will provide crisis support, legal advocacy, and safety planning for women and children facing escalating violence.
A gift today helps ensure that when a survivor calls our crisis line, a trained advocate is there to listen, assess the danger, and help her take the next step toward safety.
Right now, somewhere in our community, another woman is deciding whether it is safe to reach out for help.
Please make your donation today to help ensure that when a woman like Treena reaches out for help, someone is there to answer. Your gift will provide crisis support, legal advocacy, and safety planning for women and children facing escalating violence.
A gift today helps ensure that when a survivor calls our crisis line, a trained advocate is there to listen, assess the danger, and help her take the next step toward safety.
Right now, somewhere in our community, another woman is deciding whether it is safe to reach out for help.
