The crisis intervention and support services at the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center save lives every day. Last year, we helped 945 adults and 150 child survivors to do just that. “Kathy’s” story represents just one of the survivors we helped. Here is her story.

“Kathy” and “Richard” were married for over 30 years and had three adult children. Married as teens, the relationship was abusive from the start. Kathy tried to leave with her children on many occasions: she fled to shelters, she even left the state, and each time, the violence would escalate. Richard destroyed their property, stalked her, and threatened to kill himself. Kathy took out many restraining orders against Richard which he violated. Despite her efforts, Kathy could not safely leave the abusive marriage.

When Kathy sought help from the Center, her new life began. She immediately started using our many programs which provided her with support groups, individual therapy, art therapy, legal assistance, and financial assistance. Through these programs, she began to see a bright future for her and her family. After three years and over 650 services, Kathy was able to free herself from the abuse and move forward in her life.

On average, it can take a survivor up to seven times to leave an abusive relationship and Kathy’s story is a great reminder that leaving an abusive relationship is hard and sometimes dangerous. When you support the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, you share in Kathy’s success and the success of other survivors similar to her. Now more than ever, we must come together to ensure that our services are available for those that need them, when they need them.