I worry that I will struggle to put into words the difference OWLS and the ladies working there in particular have made in my life over the past 12 months.
I am by nature an extremely anxious person who overthinks and worries about everything. With past poor mental health I’m constantly trying to keep my head above water and keep going. Being able to attend your coffee mornings once a week with Hudson my youngest son has been like free therapy. Being around ladies who understand what it means to feel exhausted from the toll Domestic Abuse takes on a person made me feel normal. I stopped feeling like I was crazy and like no-one believed me because I didn’t have any physical injuries.
After completing the freedom programme with OWLS, I no longer felt like a victim. I felt like I survived, and I felt stronger than I had before.
While attending OWLS for support I was going through yet another round of family court processes. I had to fight both my ex partners who worked together throughout the process to tarnish my character and mentally and emotionally bully me in an attempt to make me break once more.
The difference this time was I had your ladies with me . I no longer had to sit in a court room all alone surrounded by the men who had abused me for well over 10 years and a male judge. The difference of having someone from OWLS with me to sit with me before hand , to do simple things such as distract me from the nerves or feeling sick. To accompany me to the ladies (where my Ex’s had chosen to sit outside) , come into the court room and listen to what was being said , helping me to take in all the information I would have once missed. Having someone that could essentially debrief the court appearance afterwards with Me has all been priceless.
Honestly thank you does not cover what I want to say to you. Family court is a scary place and enough to send any person with now good mental health spiralling backwards. With the help and support of the ladies from OWLS I got through the family court case . I have taken back control and although there will be other battles over my children’s schooling etc I feel strong enough to face them head on.
To every single lady that has helped me over these past 12 months thank you. What you do literally can mean the difference between a woman fighting her fight or giving up.