When Pain Becomes a Belief
Some survivors have been ignored. Some have been blamed. Some have walked into a police station or courtroom looking for protection and left feeling even more broken. Those experiences are real, and they should never be minimized. But we also have to be careful that one painful experience—or even many painful experiences—doesn’t convince us that […]
RADV Presents: The Ripple Effect
Changing Tomorrow by Investing in Today Series #10: The Legacy You Leave When people think about leaving a legacy, they often think about money. A house. A business. An inheritance. But the greatest legacy you’ll ever leave can’t be written into a will. It’s written into people. Long after we’re gone, our influence remains. It […]
Don’t Let Your Abuser Steal the Real You
Abuse doesn’t always leave visible scars. Sometimes the deepest wounds are the ones that change how you see yourself. Little by little, an abuser chips away at your confidence. They tell you that you’re too emotional, too sensitive, too weak, too difficult to love. They isolate you from the people who remind you of your […]
RADV Article: Don’t Let Yesterday or Tomorrow Steal Today
There is a trap that many survivors of domestic violence know all too well. One foot is stuck in yesterday. The other is trapped in tomorrow. Yesterday whispers:“Remember what happened to you.”“Remember the lies, the betrayal, the fear.”“You’ll never be the same.” Tomorrow whispers something different:“What if it happens again?”“What if I fail?”“What if no […]
The Best Revenge Is Living the Life They Said You Never Could
One of the greatest lies an abuser tells is that you will never make it without them. They tell you no one will love you.That you’ll fail.That you’ll come crawling back.That you’re too weak, too broken, too damaged to survive on your own. Those words aren’t truth.They’re control. When you finally leave an abusive relationship, […]
RADV Article: Don’t Let Negativity Make Your Decisions
Domestic violence already fills a survivor’s mind with fear, doubt, and uncertainty. Don’t let hopelessness become one more thing that holds you back. You’ll hear people say: “The police won’t do anything.”“No one will believe you.”“The courts never help.”“Why even try?” Those statements may come from someone’s painful experience, but they are not guaranteed to […]
RADV Article: Savor the Moments
When you’ve lived through abuse, your mind is often focused on surviving the next hour, the next day, or the next crisis. Even after you’re safe, it can be hard to slow down because survival taught you to always be looking over your shoulder. Healing invites you to do something different. It invites you to […]
Don’t Let the Ugly Become Your Future
Abuse has a way of convincing you that tomorrow will look just like yesterday. It tells you that the pain you’re living with is all you’ll ever know. That the lies spoken over you are true. That the fear, the shame, and the brokenness have become your identity. They haven’t. What happened to you is […]
RADV Presents: From the Archives
The Mission That Started It All Originally shared in 2016 Every organization has a beginning. This was ours. When I wrote this mission statement in 2016, RADV wasn’t a national resource. There wasn’t a library of articles, a rebuilt website, or years of survivor stories. There was simply a belief that domestic violence deserved more […]
RADV Article: Your Love Was Never the Weakness
Some people walk through this world with hearts that seem to have an endless supply of love. They give second chances. They believe in the good in others. They forgive. They encourage. They stay when others would leave because they believe people can change. Those qualities are beautiful. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t see […]