At the heart of everything we do as a charity are our clients. At Future Living. We encourage those to walk through our doors to speak openly about their experiences of domestic abuse.
We recognise the bravery and strength it takes. Often, once a client has been accessing our service for some time, they grow in confidence and feel ready to tell their story.
Their stories are always important. For many Victims of Domestic Abuse, sadly going unheard falls under part of the mental abuse they suffer at the hands of their abuser.
Future Living offers a place of hope and embodies the difficult changes that come as part of the recovery process. Through initiatives such as our 12 week Monica Programme we are able to watch people transform and although the process is never easy, we are behind them every step of the way.
We are currently running our last Monica Programme of this year. One participant has decided to share her journey at one of our events, here is some of her story:
‘’It happened to me. Yes me. The very person that from the outside looked like they had it together. Good job, nice house, nice car, good friends, like my very own version of the ‘Stepford Wives’. But it happened to me. See the thing with domestic violence, it doesn’t have boundaries, there’s no rule book to which it adheres to. And that’s the very thing that makes it taboo, underground, deceitful and shameful. We are led to believe that domestic violence happens in a certain world, a world so far removed from our own, our upbringing, our foundations. But the reality is that if it happened to me, it could happen to you or someone you know.’’
How The Monica Programme helped…
‘’The Monica programme has been my saviour, my safe place. It’s been like meeting a best friend for a coffee, only these best friends require no words to understand what it is I am trying to communicate. The silence and solidarity speaks for itself.
It has taught me to understand and appreciate what is both healthy and unhealthy, how to set boundaries and how to stand tall and proud, it has taught me to love myself. It has educated me.’’
