Tatum‘s DV Survivor Story
February 7th, 2025
By Savannah Verdon, Development Manager –
Tatum’s* home wasn’t hectic because her four- and two-year-old daughters were always having fun with their feline brothers, Guy* and Fonz* – those were the precious moments that were Tatum’s saving grace. It was hectic because the father of her children was so often abusive to her, while her mother, who lived with them, tried her best to intervene. Seeing the beautiful relationship between her children and her cats, she knew the only way to protect them all was to leave.
Guy and Fonz were a top priority from the moment Tatum started planning their exit. She would have asked her mother to take the girls to safety so she could stay and protect the cats if she had to. After all, she didn’t suspect at first that her husband could or would be abusive to her. What else would he do to hurt her?
Fortunately, Tatum had time to plan, an opportunity not every survivor is afforded. She’d already been in touch with her nearest domestic violence shelter and was just days away from leaving. Despite her feeling that she should stay with the cats if needed while her mom and daughters left, the shelter advocate stressed that that could put her in further danger, leaving Guy and Fonz even more vulnerable. The thought broke her heart, and she wondered briefly if leaving was the right choice after all. Tatum didn’t feel certain right up to the moment she walked out the door, her two boys gathered nearby to see what was happening. She wouldn’t let it be the last time she saw them.
As soon as they arrived at the domestic violence shelter, Tatum asked her advocate if there was anything at all they could do to rescue Guy and Fonz as soon as possible. Since her advocate had told her that the safest thing to do was to leave the cats behind for now, they wanted to do more to help the family now that they were out. They would help Tatum get the cats out of the house and bring them to their local SPCA for an emergency stay – but that would only be for a few days. Guy and Fonz were safe for now, but their troubles weren’t over yet.
Tatum and her family planned to stay at the domestic violence shelter much longer than the few days Guy and Fonz would be able to stay at the SPCA so she and her advocate had to work quickly to find another solution. Most importantly, she wanted her daughters to be able to visit the cats to stay close until they were reunited. Even though they hadn’t been apart for more than a day when she went to retrieve them with her advocate, it may as well have been months for how terrible it felt to be apart. The idea of actually spending months apart was unbearable.
Once they found a nearby boarding facility where she and her girls could visit them often, Tatum sat down with her advocate and applied for a RedRover Relief Safe Escape grant. With a grant, she didn’t have to leave the shelter before she’d had a chance to find permanent, pet-friendly housing or without finishing group and individual therapy. Her daughters, who’d always been attached at the hip to the cats, still had the comfort of their best friends throughout a transition they didn’t quite understand. Her mother could be proud knowing that Tatum had stayed strong and done the right thing for the whole family, including the cats that she loved for how special they were to her granddaughters. You gave them hope, and a Safe Escape grant gave them the peaceful future they deserved.
Please consider making a Safe Escape possible for every survivor with a generous gift today.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy
