Katie’s Story
24-year-old Katie* began attending sessions with a counselor at the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) following a recent breakup. After Katie ended her abusive relationship, she still struggled with very low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority as a result of the abuse. Katie was able to work with her counselor to process her negative feelings, […]
Apr 23, 2020
Esther’s Story
Esther* and her young daughter Vanessa* have faced tremendous traumas and obstacles to stability, but thanks to their perseverance and the generous support of our community members, they are thriving. Esther is a refugee who moved to the United States with her husband. His abusive behavior led her to flee to House of Ruth with […]
Apr 23, 2020
Willow’s Story
Willow* is a young mother living with her children in House of Ruth’s supportive housing. Her two-year old daughter Aria* and her infant son Lucas* are both enrolled in our Kidspace Child and Family Development Center. When Aria first arrived at Kidspace as a young toddler, she barely spoke. She did a lot of observing […]
Nov 13, 2019
Fiona’s Story
55-year-old Fiona* came to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) after 30 years of an abusive relationship with a man she had known all her life. Fiona initially expressed a great deal of reticence about coming to counseling, both because of cultural taboos around sharing her ‘business’ outside her family, and fear of addressing the […]
Oct 4, 2019
Nancy’s Story
25-year-old Nancy* came to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) following a violent physical incident with her boyfriend. She discovered that she had lost her way. She had become withdrawn from her friends and family, lost self-efficacy and belief in herself, and was having difficulty concentrating and being productive at work. She was also experiencing […]
Sep 9, 2019
Jennifer’s Story
31-year-old Jennifer* came to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) for help in dealing with conflict with her husband and her concerns about how this impacted her small children. It didn’t take long for Jennifer to see that she was married to a highly verbally abusive partner, and had become depressed and increasingly isolated from […]
Sep 9, 2019
Catherine’s Story
38-year-old Catherine* came to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) for help separating from a long-term physically and verbally abusive relationship. Like many clients who seek services at the DVSC, Catherine described her boyfriend as very controlling through most of the relationship, with occasional escalations to physical violence. Recently when talk of separating was broached, […]
Aug 2, 2019
Jenny’s Story
31-year-old Jenny* sought counseling services at the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) after a long stint of counseling elsewhere. Jenny felt concerned that her previous counselor was frustrated with her “lack of progress.” Jenny is a survivor of prolonged childhood abuse and neglect, and when she started services at the DVSC she was still living […]
Aug 2, 2019
Megan’s Story
34-year-old Megan* came to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) six months ago because she recognized some unhealthy patterns in her relationships. Although Megan had never experienced physical violence in an intimate relationship, after she got divorced last year she realized in retrospect the relationship had been emotionally abusive. Her needs were often dismissed and […]
Dec 10, 2018
Desiree’s Story
54-year-old Desiree* was referred to the Domestic Violence Support Center (DVSC) by another social service agency in DC where she had been receiving counseling services. Desiree has a long history of abuse beginning early in her life, continuing through adolescence when she was placed with an abusive foster family after her mother died from a […]
