When Marta* first arrived at the Southeast Regional Crisis Center (SERCC) in Rochester, MN, she was distressed and scared. Marta endured horrific abuse at the hands of a family member who lived with her. He terrorized her in her own home, making her fear for her life, even smashing her phone so she couldn’t contact anyone. But thanks to crisis community responders, Marta finally managed to get away.
“I got a call from our community mobile response providers,” said Kasey Berthiaume, Program Manager at SERCC, “asking if we had adult beds available, we did, so they brought Marta over and explained her unsafe situation to us.”
Typically, someone in Marta’s situation would go to a women’s shelter, but all the local shelters were full. The crisis responders decided SERCC would be the best option for Marta’s situation.
Finding a Path Forward
Marta was able to stay for the full 10 days and had to adjust to the devasting fact that her home was no longer safe, at least not for now. The family member in her home had access to weapons, and she could be potentially walking into a deadly situation if she returned.
“She was a little hesitant with moving forward on the protective order and eviction,” said Kasey, “there was still that familial bond…but she ultimately knew this was for her own safety, there was some apprehension, but she did what she needed to do.”
SERCC employees supported Marta in connecting her with local women’s shelters and other domestic violence resources so she could begin to plan her next moves, supporting her emotionally as she made phone calls and decisions.
“Marta worked closely with the local women’s shelter and a SERCC staff member to figure out her next steps,” said Kasey, “she filed a protective order, began the eviction process to get the family member out of her home, and finding where to stay after her time with SERCC was done.”
Besides planning what was next for her, Marta participated in SERCC’s programing, joining in on the different group therapies and other mental health classes SERCC has to offer. During moments of apprehension and fear, SERCC team members helped Marta regulate herself through healthy coping mechanisms.
“We do a lot of active listening…if we needed to we’d also implement therapeutic crisis interventions strategies,” said Kasey, “…Marta was down to work on what she needed to, she participated in all the groups, she worked very closely with our direct support staff to get connected with the resources she needed…she did a majority of the work, and we supported her in that.”
Reconnecting with Family
Marta identified and connected with a family member to live with while she waited for her home to become safe again, buying plane tickets herself, feeling empowered to take control of her situation with the support of SERCC staff.
“She bought her own plane ticket and got things figured out,” said Kasey, “she was able to get all that done with support, we got her to the airport…and she got safely to her new home.”
After her time at SERCC, Marta safely flew out to her new home and called SERCC to thank them for all they’d done for her and let them know she was safe.
For those who may be in a similar situation to Marta, or know of someone who is, Kasey wants them to know help is available.
“It’s going to be a difficult process,” said Kasey, “being there to support the person, reaching out for help, it’s a tough road, but eventually you’ll get where you need to be, to be safe.”
*Names and details have been changed to protect privacy.