This month we explored one client’s journey with NEWS. We experienced the various challenges she faced and the services and support NEWS provided to get her and her family into a violence-free home. Please note: as this is a real client story, the name of the client has been changed and small details have been altered to protect the client’s privacy.
Chapter 5: Olivia Finds Peace
After three months of staying in the NEWS Shelter, Olivia’s shelter stay was nearing its end. NEWS extended her stay for one more month. But, there were other families waiting to be housed. So, we needed to figure out a plan, and fast. Olivia made arrangements to stay with her sister when, at the very last moment, one hard-to-convince landlord agreed to rent to her family! Olivia was beyond ecstatic hearing the news, but there was another challenge: move-in costs totaling more than $10,000. These costs included her first month of rent, double deposit, and storage fees. But, the NEWS Housing Advocates knew what to do. By braiding together several funding sources, NEWS paid for the entire amount on Olivia’s behalf!
If you could have seen their faces on move-in day, you would know what gives advocates the drive to continue doing what they do every day. The tears and the hugs and the giggles were enough to melt your heart. Olivia reports that her kids were able to enroll in school and are now feeling a sense of peace and security in their new home, a home free from violence.
This is the final chapter we will share of Olivia’s story. Thanks to NEWS, she and her family are able to start new, violence-free chapters. Thank you for joining us on her journey. Her story is like so many of our survivors, facing multiple barriers and needing many different services. Commit to ending domestic violence and sexual abuse in our community by donating at www.NapaNEWS.org and click GIVE.
If you are experiencing abuse or would just like some information, please call our help line, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
THANKFUL FOR OUR SUPPORTERS!
The Annie and Richard Bennett Fund of the Napa Valley Community Foundation | Benevity | California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services | California Office of the Small Business Advocate | California Partnership to End Domestic Violence | City of Napa | City of Napa Police Department | Community Projects, Inc. | Drysdale Community Foundation | F&M Bank | First Dollar Foundation | Golden Rule Family Foundation | HCA Foundation | The Jule Grant Fund of the Napa Valley Community Foundation | Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Programs | The Napa Fund of the Napa Valley Community Foundation | Napa Valley’s
CanDo Give!Guide | Napa County | Napa Valley Vintners | Mental Health Services Act in Napa County | M.S. Grumbacher Foundation | Odyssey Group Foundation | Opus One | The Peter A. & Vernice H. Gasser Foundation | Pinpoint Foundation | Phelps Foundation | Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center | Redwood Credit Union | The Silverado Farming One Percent Fund of the Napa Valley Community Foundation | Soroptimist International Chapters of American Canyon, Calistoga, and St. Helena | Syar Foundation | Vollmer Family Foundation | Winiarski Foundation | Women’s Foundation California | United Way Bay Area
