Real Life | Marie

Marie* came to My CWA straight from hospital and wanted a fresh start. Scroll down to read her story.

MARIE

Background

Marie* came to My CWA straight from hospital in another area where she’d accessed ongoing support from the independent domestic violence advisor (IDVA) service for several years. She wanted a fresh start and didn’t feel like she’d ever be able to fully leave her perpetrator while she was in her home town.

How we helped

While we were speaking to Marie in hospital, she told us that all she wanted was a hot bath. She came to My CWA still in her hospital gown and with hardly any belongings. We gave her new, clean clothes, pyjamas, toiletries and food. And she got her hot bath!

We helped Marie to develop a safety plan and develop strategies for maintaining no contact with her perpetrator. She attended our Gateway recovery programme for adult domestic abuse survivors and joined our survivor group to build her local support network.

Marie also met regularly with her key worker to focus on her support plan needs and her recovery. She used journaling and other resources to help make sense of her experiences.

At first, Marie struggled with being in safe accommodation and found sharing really difficult. We helped her move to alternative accommodation, which was quieter and gave her the space and peace she needed to reflect. This really helped Marie to improve her mental health.

The future

Marie’s abuser had isolated her from loved ones and she hadn’t seen anyone from her family for some time. We helped her to make contact with her daughters and meet with them safely. She’d lost hope of that ever happening.

We supported Marie with her move away from refuge accommodation and she’s now living independently with her 18-year-old daughter. She’s still using My CWA services.