Lilia initially met a Radiant Futures outreach advocate at a community partner’s site and requested service for her family. At the time Lilia requested counseling services she was in large denial about domestic violence and its effects on her and her family. Upon initial intake, Lilia had reported only that her husband was an alcoholic and she wanted to learn how to handle her difficult situation at home.
When Lilia began service and started to be educated on the effects of domestic violence on her children, Lilia opened up and verbalized what actually was happening at home. Lilia was in a 20-year abusive marriage in which not just alcoholism was present but emotional, psychological, and physical abuse towards her and her children.
Due to a lack of transportation, Lilia’s intake and services were provided at her home. An escalated incident occurred at her home with her husband, causing Lilia to call the police and resulting in her husband being arrested. At that time Lilia was referred to Radiant Futures’s Legal Advocacy Program. Lilia was supported and guided by a Legal Advocate who assisted her in obtaining a 5 year Restraining Order.
When her husband was released from jail he moved into a garage behind the apartment complex where Lilia and her family were living. Under constant harassment and psychological pressure from her abuser living nearby and an ongoing struggle to afford the apartment’s rent, Lilia and her family became participants at Radiant Futures shelter.
During their time participating at the shelter, Lilia and her family received counseling services and participated in the different groups offered, such as parenting classes, the Personal Empowerment Program, and art therapeutic groups. Lilia was also assisted by an advocate to enroll her children in a school near the shelter.
Feeling the urgency to provide her family with permanent shelter, Lilia began working. She worked with Radiant Futures’s KEY Program to begin receiving support from the Victim Compensation Program, and began her search for an apartment. With the guidance of Radiant Futures’s Key Program staff, Lilia was able to find an apartment to move into after 45 days at the shelter.
After graduating from the shelter Lilia and her children continued receiving counseling under the Radiant Futures Aftercare Program. By the time the Lilia and her children completed counseling they were stable and adjusted to their new environment and routine.