“Instead of hope and healing, we faced violence and pain.”

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Search the courage to escape domestic violence can be a matter of life and death.

Last year alone, there was a domestic violence death nearly every 11 days in the Metro jurisdiction.

The department recently honored thirty-four victims of domestic violence after reading their names at the tree dedication ceremony.

In this story, we honor those who lived by giving them a platform to share their stories and shared experiences at SafeNest.

More than a dozen women who sought shelter at Nevada’s largest domestic violence organization are mislabeling SafeNest.

Instead of help, hope and healing, they met crime, violence and pain.

THE STORY OF LAUREN

(Un)SafeNest: Lauren’s Story

“Women like us need help. We need stability. We need support. We need direction. We need people to understand that what we are going through is serious!”

Lauren says she knows she stayed with her abusive husband for too long, enduring “years of suffering, mental, physical and emotional abuse.”

Police reports and court cases don’t begin to paint the picture of what she went through.

“Broken ribs, boiling water poured on me, black eyes, I have to hide to go to work, put an eye patch because my whole face is black.”

She has two sons: a four-year-old with autism and a 15-year-old high school student.

When the abuse spread to her children, she found the strength to leave, seeking refuge at SafeNest.

“When we first moved to SafeNest, we were placed in a cafeteria where there are actually no beds. We slept on the couch.”

She says that it was the most difficult thing for her to bring her children to such a situation.

“I had no choice. I have no one.”

But instead of moving on to recovery, Lauren says SafeNest “was a big failure.”

Lauren says she didn’t get the help she hoped for with counseling or housing, and was kicked out of SafeNest for violating policy by taking photos, which she says she was doing to document conditions at the shelter.

With nowhere to go and no transportation, she had to leave some things behind, but when she returned to SafeNest to retrieve them, “One of the bags was missing. In this bag were all my clothes, my sons’ clothes, my mother’s ashes from her cremation.”

Things that are of great value to a family that has so little.

“I have nothing more. All I did was try to run away from this man who caused me so much pain.’

It’s hard to hear stories like Lauren’s, but we all should.

I cried with her as she talked about her pain, but I am happy to report that she is in a better place now. She got a job in health care and found a stable place for herself and her sons.

THE STORY OF MJ

(Un)SafeNest: The MJ Story

Mary Julianne, who is known as MJ, had a series of abusive relationships.

“It’s been constant my whole life.”

In a way, that’s all she knows.

“I’ve been strangled, I’ve been in the hospital, my head has been split open, you name it, I’ve had it. Never really talked to anyone about it. He seemed to be silent.”

But at the end of last year, she broke the cycle of violence.

“I have my little girl to think about and I just…I needed help!”

MJ and her daughter sought refuge at SafeNest, but said they found no help or hope there. They left in June this year.

“I tell her, never follow in mom’s footsteps.”

MJ is now standing up for those still living in shelter, still living in fear.

“I’m afraid! I’m very afraid.” But she says she decided to speak out: “To help women and make sure they never have to go through what I went through.”

About herself, she says that she only wants peace of mind.

After leaving SafeNest, MJ had to fight to get her daughter back, which she recently did after finding work and stable housing.

APRIL HISTORY

(Un)SafeNest: April’s story

From a car accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury to being sexually exploited, April has struggled.

This spring, she fled years of abuse by seeking refuge at SafeNest.

“I went there to escape a human trafficking situation and try to heal, regroup and get my life back on track.”

She thought she would be helped to find a way to a better future, but instead she found chaos.

In a text message to her social worker on June 4, she wrote: “When I came to SafeNest, I thought I would have stability and support. I’m disappointed because instead I feel hurt and misled.”

“SafeNest didn’t help me at all,” April said. “They basically destroyed my spirit and my will to move forward from the abusive situation.”

While at the shelter, April says her safety and health were constantly threatened.

“Woman, she, uh, spoiled my hygiene products… threw feces, urine, spit and menstrual blood on my bed, my blankets, sheets, my clothes and terrorized me! Throwing feces on the wall! I told the staff they said there was nothing they could do. I asked them if they would help me, they said no, I had to clean it myself.

That night she was admitted to the hospital. But soon she had to return to the shelter, because she had nowhere else to go.

Like the other women whose stories we’ve shared during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, April found solace in coming forward and speaking out.

13 Investigates

Check out (Un)SafeNest

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If you or someone you know needs help, here is a list of domestic violence resources: