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<\/h5>\nDomestic violence can be a difficult subject to think about, but with over 5,000 Louisiana women experiencing some form of domestic violence each year and Louisiana ranked in the top ten most dangerous states for women, it is a necessary subject to discuss. This past year, Project SAVE helped a client named Vontrelle.<\/p>\n
<\/h5>\nThe father of Vontrelle\u2019s children had previously slammed her to the ground, slapped her in the face, threw things at her, and cursed out her and the kids. Things escalated to the point that \u201cJavier,\u201d who had struggled with mental health issues, locked himself inside Vontrelle\u2019s house with the children and tried to take their son who is on the autism spectrum. Fearing for her children\u2019s safety, she contacted the police and met with Project SAVE. She shares, \u201cThe Project SAVE staff were so helpful and made me feel like family. Instead of just going in and signing paperwork, I could tell they really cared. It was personal instead of just being one out of a million clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vontrelle works at Ochsner and juggles the responsibilities of being a working mom. Project SAVE can serve defendants like Javier with paperwork so that survivors do not have to take off additional time from work and find childcare for extra court time. Allyson Tuttle, Program Director, was able to get Vontrelle a protective order, which meant that \u201cJavier\u201d has to stay away from Vontrelle and her kids, including on school property. He was ordered to undergo a psychology evaluation, and the NOPD was sent to his home to retrieve any firearms.<\/p>\n
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Sighing with relief, Vontrelle discloses, \u201cNow that everything is settled, I feel like I have my freedom and my life back. Instead of focusing on the abuse or what would happen in court, I can now focus on my sons. It has made me a better mom. I finally feel like I am \u201cme\u201d again. I\u2019m hopeful and feel like I have control over my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on this particular case, Allyson stated, \u201cSeeing Vontrelle at peace with the security that her children are safe is so rewarding. She has taught her children that no one deserves to live in fear or be abused. By making these decisions, she not only has empowered herself, but her sons are now more empowered to make healthy choices too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Domestic abuse can lead people to believe that they will never escape the control of their\u00a0abuser, but there are signs to look for to help friends or family members who are being abused. For example, people experiencing physical abuse may wear long sleeves or scarves in hot weather to hide injuries and have inconsistent stories about how they sustained those injuries. Domestic abuse is not about violence, though; it is about control.<\/p>\n
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Indicators that someone is being controlled or abused may look like: they ask for permission from their partner to go anywhere, they refer to their partner as \u201cjealous\u201d or possessive, they have little access to available money, and\/or the partner constantly contacts them to know what they are doing. Emotional signs that point to abuse include increased privacy or cutting off contact with loved ones, cancelling appointments or dropping out of activities they would usually enjoy, becoming overly anxious to please their partner, and\/or revealing that their partner has a bad temper when drinking alcohol.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, there is hope. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline<\/a> at 1-800-799-7233, and learn more about Project SAVE here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Project SAVE ends intimate partner abuse by empowering survivors regardless of income. Domestic violence can be a difficult subject to think about, but with over 5,000 Louisiana women experiencing some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":15899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[314,63,276],"class_list":{"0":"post-15889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog","8":"tag-domestic-abuse","9":"tag-domestic-violence","10":"tag-project-save"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n