Meet Rosa
When she saw the gun, she knew. Rosa had endured more than sixteen years of abuse. Her husband Alberto had beaten her in front of their three children, sexually abused her, and threatened all of them with terrifying regularity. Rosa had lived in fear for years but was intimidated by Alberto’s threats to take […]
Meet Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhmXbibDl9Y Israel is an immigrant and dancer. After he married, Israel’s husband because verbally and physically abusive towards him. Israel found his strength and told his husband that he needed him to leave the home. In response, his husband started to harass him causing Israel to lose himself and he began declining […]
Meet Kristen
https://youtu.be/QkhONSxFUfc Kristen felt hopeless. She was in a controlling marriage that contained verbal abuse and, when she became pregnant, the abuse turned physical. To protect herself and her unborn daughter, Kristen found safety in a shelter. Kristen’s husband retaliated and made allegations with Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) stating that […]
Meet Bojana
https://youtu.be/Oyi-CpKX4VA Bojana is an artist, an immigrant from Serbia, an animal lover, and a mother. She found herself in a relationship that started as verbally abusive and soon became physical. She was called names, harassed through social media, and her partner even tried to get her fired from her job. In response, […]
Meet Candace
To escape threats from the gangs in her hometown of El Salvador, Candace escaped and came to the US. She eventually settled in Chicago after being invited to stay with Matt, a friend of a friend she had met through social media. Almost immediately, the abuse started. Matt would lock her in […]
Meet Janet
Janet grew up in Mexico and came to the US, where she became friends with her future husband, Brad. While things were good between Janet and Brad for many years, their relationship eventually changed and Brad became verbally abusive towards Janet. After an incident where Brad tried to veer their car off […]
Meet Lisa
Lisa came from a town in Colombia that was plagued with guerrilla warfare, kidnappings, assassinations, and drugs throughout the 1990’s. Fearing for her safety, Lisa’s parents were able to arrange a visa for her to come to Chicago and stay with family. It was here that she met Steven who seemed like […]
Meet Edith
When Edith arrived at Ascend Justice, she was in serious danger.
Her husband Dan, had raped her and, to ensure her terror, fired a gun at the wall over her head. Police intervention ended that assault, but she knew her ordeal was not over.
She and Dan have children together because Dan had […]
Emergency
if you are in immediate danger
911
24/7 Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline
(877) 863-6338
Orders of Protection
Ascend Justice Remote OP Hotline:
312-239-0413
Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm