Hope Starts HereMeet Lauren

A strong and determined mother of four, Lauren thought that she could handle on her own ending what had gradually become a consistently abusive relationship. “I’m a ‘force to be reckoned with’ kind of person,” said Lauren. So she went to her boyfriend’s home to let him know it was over.

That seemingly straightforward plan resulted in Lauren receiving the most catastrophic of her injuries at the hands of her abuser. That day, her abuser picked her up and threw her backwards against a tile floor, striking the back of her head. “Everything went blurry then black. I was in and out of consciousness for a while,” recounted Lauren.

The resulting concussion and traumatic brain injury was the last concussion in a series that took her to a local hospital emergency department but this time, Lauren was not accompanied by the abuser and this time, she was asked about violence in her relationship. “In other ER visits, he would either accompany me so I was afraid to tell the nurse what happened or I wasn’t asked if I was in a relationship that was violent or harmful to me,” said Lauren.

With the help of Providence House, “offering me far more than a one-on-one trauma counselor could,” Lauren was able to slowly reclaim her life. “People think you can just get out of an abusive relationship and that’s the end of that,” explained Lauren. “Escaping the relationship is only the beginning of a healing process. Without the support, camaraderie and educational resources of Providence House, I would not be where I am today.”