When Leah* finally called Haven’s Crisis Line, the Women Support Worker (WSW) on the other end asked if she was safe, and Leah broke down. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt safe.

While growing up in the 1940s, June had been taught to be polite, not to talk back, and not to complain. And, you never discussed your private matters with your family or with anyone. So, when her husband, Harry, started belittling her not long after they were married, she didn’t think it was her place to tell him that he shouldn’t be saying those things to her.

It was happening again. Angie braced herself against the wall and turned her head for the slap she knew was coming. Her husband Rick’s large hand caught her upper cheekbone, thankfully just missing her right eye. With the left side of her face pressed against the wall, Angie lifted her eyes long enough to spot their daughter, Nicola, running towards Rick. No, she silently mouthed at the 8-year-old.

When Susan* came to her first group at Haven, she felt welcomed by the other women. She was invited to make tea for herself and chose where she felt comfortable to sit in the circle. Although she was a bit uncertain about what to expect, when the group began with the agenda and the guidelines, she started to feel more comfortable.

At 15, Gabby was couch surfing and living on the streets—it was hard not knowing what to expect every day, but it was better than staying home and not knowing what her step dad was going to do next. By the time she was 17, Gabby had been raped, was addicted to crack and crystal meth, and had given a baby daughter up for adoption.

At Haven’s office, 29-year-old Avery* was relating her story to Gillian*, a Community Victim Service Worker. Two days earlier, her partner of three years, Ray*, had punched her during an argument—and it wasn’t the first time.

Nineteen-year-old Stacy* never thought she would be standing here this Monday morning, or any morning. When she was greeted by Belinda*, the Community Victim Service Worker at Haven Society, she felt like running out the door.