Maslow’s hierarchy of needs demonstrates that aside from basic physical needs such as shelter and food, safety is the essential foundation upon which to build a healthy life. Parents often find themselves juggling the difficult reality of ensuring a safe environment for themselves and their children while knowing it’s impossible to protect kids from everything in the outside world. And that’s okay, as long as we have established a secure home built on education, unconditional love, and modeling the behavior we want our children to learn for the sake of their future relationships.
Kayla* was hesitant to reach out to Amudim; but her best friend had spent years watching the dysfunction that existed in Kayla’s home, and she finally convinced Kayla that she didn’t have to live that way and that there was outside support to be found.
Our case manager was able to parse out the multiple challenges that needed to be addressed. Kayla’s husband was abusive, constantly yelling and putting his wife down, withholding money, mocking women in general in front of his daughters, and insisting that their son’s acting out in a sexual way was “nonsense” and just learning to “be a man.”
The first goal was to find a therapist for Kayla as well as a support group for victims of domestic violence. Our case manager assisted Kayla with every step, including suggesting transportation and daycare options when needed. After several months of therapy and group work, Kayla slowly began to find her voice. Many people in her community were unfortunately siding with Kayla’s husband, as he put on a completely different and charming face in public. But Kayla continued to push forward, getting a job and taking care of herself so that her children could see her living a happier life.
Thankfully, the children are doing better-smiling, opening up and succeeding in school. Kayla is still living with her husband while she decides about the future. But for now, she knows that she is worthy and capable of protecting her family and advocating for their safety and wellbeing.
If you or someone you know is in trouble, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Amudim is just a phone call away and here to help.
*Names and details have been changed for privacy purposes
Each week, Amudim fields calls covering a wide range of crises and addressing various human concerns, including addiction, depression, abuse, health and domestic emergencies and many others. We track the calls and breakdown of issues for many reasons, foremost of which is to consistently improve and strengthen our knowledge and ability to address community’s needs.
Amudim and Chaim V’Chessed are working intensely to resolve this issue. We have jointly launched a webpage to gather information directly from the families affected by this situation. If you have been prevented from receiving travel documents to travel to the US, please submit your information on this page in a timely manner:
https://amudim.org/usc/
This will allow Amudim and Chaim V’Chessed to present actual data to the relevant agencies, in the hopes that a solution can be found quickly.