• Donate Now

Header Right

  • Home
  • Domestic Violence
    • Is This Relationship Abusive?
    • Types of relationships
    • Myths about domestic violence
    • Why Leaving is Hard
    • Safety Tips
    • Help Someone You Know
    • Additional Resources
  • Services
    • 24-Hour Hotline
    • Advocacy & Education
    • Legal Advocacy
    • Hospital Advocacy
    • Children’s Services
    • Emergency Family Shelter
  • About HAWC
    • Annual Corporate Partnerships
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership Team and Board of Directors
    • Our Funders
    • Celebrating 40 Years
    • Careers
  • Give Help Now
    • Wish List
    • Volunteer
    • Create Change
    • Help Someone You Know
    • Workplace Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Walk for HAWC
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Exit
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

HAWC

Helping abused women, children, men, and nonbinary people live free from violence and fear

Header Right

  • Donate Now
  • Home
  • Domestic Violence
    • Is This Relationship Abusive?
    • Types of relationships
    • Myths about domestic violence
    • Why Leaving is Hard
    • Safety Tips
    • Help Someone You Know
    • Additional Resources
  • Services
    • 24-Hour Hotline
    • Advocacy & Education
    • Legal Advocacy
    • Hospital Advocacy
    • Children’s Services
    • Emergency Family Shelter
  • About HAWC
    • Annual Corporate Partnerships
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership Team and Board of Directors
    • Our Funders
    • Celebrating 40 Years
    • Careers
  • Give Help Now
    • Wish List
    • Volunteer
    • Create Change
    • Help Someone You Know
    • Workplace Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Walk for HAWC
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Exit
You are here: Home / HAWC Healing Connection

Early Trauma Intervention Sparks Survivor’s Passion for Keeping Others Safe

Jake* was only five when he first remembers his dad, Mark*, hurting him. Mark was physically violent toward Jake, his brother, and their mom, Linda*. After a particularly violent incident, the police became involved, and Jake’s dad was on the run. That’s when Linda turned to HAWC.

Because the family’s situation was so dangerous, they were moved to an Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter out of state until Mark was arrested and incarcerated. Though they were relieved to be able to return to Massachusetts where their friends and family lived, the trauma Jake had witnessed caused him to begin struggling with day-to-day life.

Jake had vivid nightmares. He remembers having visions of his dad walking through the wall of his bedroom. Linda shared Jake’s struggles with her HAWC advocate, and Jake was enrolled in our Parent Child Trauma Recovery Program (PCTRP).

“HAWC helped me understand that I could trust my mother to be able to protect me,” Jake, now 24, says. “My mom and I grew a really strong bond because of that program.”

Despite feeling safer, Jake continued to struggle with debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse and required residential treatment. Over time, he was able to move back home to live with his mom, who had been diligent about visiting Jake every weekend while he was in treatment. Gail Arnold, PCTRP Clinical Supervisor, and Connie Boris, a HAWC advocate, also visited Jake frequently during his time at the facility and kept in close contact with Linda to offer support.

“The whole team worked so well together. It was amazing. They were there for everything we needed,” said Linda. “They were our family at that time.”

HAWC would play a big role in Jake’s life again when he turned 18 and had to file his own abuse prevention order against his father now that he was legally an adult. At the court hearing, Jake would see his father for the first time in years, and he was terrified. A HAWC legal advocate helped him fill out the paperwork and stood by his side in court, which to this day Jake credits as what made it possible for him to do it at all.

Jake currently works for his grandfather’s security firm and is in night school to earn his security license.

Footer

HAWC Locations

HAWC serves 23 cities on Massachusetts’ North Shore from the five central locations listed below.

  • Salem, MA 978-744-8552
  • Gloucester, MA 978-283-8642
  • Lynn, MA 781-592-9900
  • North Shore Medical Center 978-354-4383
  • For 24-hour support, call our hotline at: 1-800-547-1649
  • Para apoyo llama nuestra linea de 24 horas a 1-800-547-1649.

Follow HAWC

For up-to-date information on domestic violence awareness and opportunities for action, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Stay in Touch

Join our mailing list and receive updates and news about HAWC.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 1995–2023 HAWC · All Rights Reserved · Design and development by Sky Dog Technologies · Powered by Mai Theme