A safe place for Paulina and Jerry

*A story about Domestic Violence, how it affects women and children, and the options available for getting help

Paulina’s father was a violent man. Every night, he would come home drunk, argue with her mother, and beat her up. Seeing this, Paulina would grab her brother Jerry by his hand, run into her room, lock the door, hide in the closet and cover their ears.

Most times, they would fall asleep in the closet and wake up the next morning seeing their mother with a black eye and bruised face.

Paulina would always skip school to take care of her mother and brother.

Their home was always peaceful whenever her dad was not around. They enjoyed their mother’s meals, her jokes and the bedtime stories she would read to them each night.

But whenever her dad came home, everything turned into chaos. The arguments and fights would start, and Paulina and Jerry would spend the night in the closet.

One afternoon, a group of women visited her mother and told her about a Safe House for women like her and her children who have a violent father. Paulina’s mother was relieved when she heard about this and quickly left with Paulina and Jerry.

The Safe House had other women and their children, too. Paulina was sad that they left their home and dad, but she was also happy that her mother would not get beaten up again and she would not have to skip school.

https://carolineevari.wordpress.com/2021/04/14/a-safe-place-for-paulina-and-jerry/