ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For Reach Out Speak Out, an organization that supports domestic abuse survivors, October is a special month.
It’s not only Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but it’s also when they hold their annual Purple Passion Silent Auction.
For St. Petersburg resident Robin Brown, she’s happy to help the organization that’s been there for her.
“I found that two and a half years ago, I needed help,” she said.
That’s when Brown left her husband of 40 years.
Brown said the day she left, she didn’t know that was going to be her last day with him.
With encouragement from her kids, Brown took a step forward.
Still, there was a lot she still needed to figure out to survive on her own.
“It was really difficult time for me because I didn’t know where I would go,” she said. “I didn’t know how I would support myself. I worked as a cleaning lady.”
Brown is part of the organization’s five-year program to support survivors.
Co-founder Jan Porter said they operate in a way to make sure the people who come through their program can survive on their own.
“We do everything in the first year every single month,” Porter said. “We give them a certain amount of money and supplies and everything like that. The second year, every other month. Then it’s quarterly. So we don’t want them sticking with us. We want them to survive and be on their own.”
Taking that first step to a new life isn’t easy, but Brown wants other people going through what she did to remember this.
“You are valuable, you are precious, you are loved in a way that you don’t even know,” she said.
Matt Lackritz
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