Member-only story
Your Abuser is a Thief. Peer Support is Gift.
Abusers steal trust, autonomy and safety from victims. Peer support groups offer power, choice and control to survivors.
Every Tuesday evening a little magic happens.
A group of women put their lives aside to gather and talk. For some of us with small children, it may be the one night of the week that we leave the house alone. Some women, whose kids are older or out of the house, arrive unfettered by schedule or babysitter. But we all share something in common.
“Now that she’s passed, there are things I can talk about,” said one of the women on a recent evening. A few of us nod. The loneliness of being the only one is familiar.
My mother died four years ago. The disbelief was immediate and it lingered. A different kind of loneliness set in. But another feeling sailed in as if aboard a high masted boat: “there are lessons here,”. I was 42 and hadn’t been looking for guidance. But I do believe in signs.
Slowly, I started to do things differently. Tuesday evening group is one of those things.
When my mother died, she took her secrets and sorrows. I was still walking around with mine.
I was working seven hours a week at a local human services agency. You know it better as a domestic violence and rape crisis center. I…
