My Nonprofit Reviews

In 1999, I with my 3-year-old daughter moved to Maryland from California. This was because my then husband/ her father decided that he did not want to have anything to do with us anymore. I think the date was December 3rd, 1999. He dropped us off at the airport, not turning back to look at me or his daughter.

When we came to Maryland all my daughter and I had was the suitcases we brought with us. A friend agreed to let us live with them for a short while. I am forever grateful to them for providing us with a safe roof and food while we found our footing here. We started a new life – from scratch. I first bought a computer so that I could research what bank to use and where to buy a car. After that, I looked for a house for us and a school for my daughter. I was also looking for a job, any job that would give us some income. I feared every second of the day, that my ex-husband would show up at the door to take my daughter away. I could trust no one. He had made many promises in our divorce decree, I knew that any day he could change his mind on the agreements. And in a few months’ time, that is exactly what he did. He cut our child support, fired the mediator, he visited our daughter as and when he wanted. It was as if our divorce agreement did not exist. He knew he could get away with this because he knew that we did not have the money or support to get any legal help.

Would I have appreciated some help or guidance at this time of our life? Someone to give me legal advice? Someone to hold my hand and tell me all will be well? I was always scared and thinking what would happen to my 3-year-old daughter if I happen to get ill or something. I could not always ask that nice family to help us. I felt, like I was taking advantage of them because they did not ask for or deserve to deal with our issues, I am sure they had enough of their own problems. From being in a situation where I was told what to do, overnight, I was in a situation where I had to do the research and make decisions on my own. How does one decide what needed to be done and how to do it, was my first problem.

I am a survivor of intimate partner violence. I have been associated with Hope Works as a volunteer for at least 3 to 4 years. In these years I have helped with childcare, outreach and also helped with workshops. I have had a chance to interact with quite a few employees of Hope Works from various departments. Everyone who works in this organization from the Receptionist to the Director, is passionate about helping women who have experienced sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence. Hope Works does not only help with therapy, temporary shelter, advocacy and the like, they also have workshops on self-care, mindfulness, leadership, writing, etc. I have also participated in workshops where we made arts or crafts. I love the memory box I made one such Saturday afternoon. I have also gone to a wonderful farm that rescues horses. Many different self-development activities are provided for us women. The Therapists here do not just stop at providing talk therapy. I have met a very sweet little dog who visits the Hope Works office to provide therapy. This just tells me that there are people at Hope Works who believe in us and are giving us opportunities to find ourselves.

Hope Works does not just take care of the abused, they provide therapy to the abusers as well. To me, this says that they try to help every aspect of the abusive situation – the abused and the abuser.

Not only this, through Holiday drives, Hope Works also makes sure that each client and their family have a gift and a good meal during the holidays. The pantry here is always stocked with necessities for the whole family. They even help the clients when they are ready to leave the shelter to move into their own home and start a new life.

I do not know of any other organization that does so much with such a healthy attitude to help such a sad cause. I would have been more than grateful and thankfully crying, if I had even a fraction of this help that Hope Works provides to women/ families like me. The work done here, saves so many lives, helping them find the path of their life. It is very significant.