Brave Abuse Victim Shares Her Story – Now a 911 Cell Phone Bank Supporter
n
Linda Low shares her heart-wrenching story of abuse, and how she bravely escaped a seemingly hopeless situation. Read for yourself to see just how helpful, in this case life-saving, a secret phone could be for anyone trapped in an abusive relationship…
n
n
It all started with a “tumultuous divorce” she called it. Like most women after a stressful life event, she was out celebrating. She was caught off guard and thought she had met a nice man. Nice enough to convince her to let him stay at her place for 3 nights until his place was ready. He even offered her $50.00 a night to do so. “He did sleep on the couch and was a gentleman” she said.
n
n
n
She carried on with her weekly routine. Dropping the kids at dad’s house for the weekends, and even bringing him to her mothers’ house for dinner. “I was too trusting and should have been cautious” Linda recalls.
n
n
After the 4th day of him being at her house, she asked him when he would be staying at his own place, that’s when things took a turn for the worse. “He tore the phone out of the wall… he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me into the house and (I was crying and terrified) he put bleach in a canning jar mixed with lighter fluid and put it in the microwave. He told me that he would be living with me and is not going anywhere. If I object to that he would press start and blow us up. But before that happens he would kill my children and mother. He told me not to tell anyone or he would kill my children and mother.” She believed him. After all, he knew where they lived.
n
n
He controlled her every move. He destroyed the phones in the house, so she could see she had no way of calling for help. He destroyed her property, followed her to work and was there waiting on her lunch break and then followed her home at the end of the day. He followed her to pick up the kids and he watched every move she made while with them. This lasted for a month.
n
n
After a surprise visit from her abusers’ parents, she put her plan into action to get away from him.
n
n
She had gotten angry enough to say, “Enough is enough”. “Had I owned a secret cell phone I could have called the police and had him arrested many times.” Linda admits, referencing the 911 Cell Phone Bank.
n
n
“I decided to confide in 2 coworkers and my boss… we initiated a plan.” She left work early with two coworkers. They went to Linda’s house and brought a phone to use. “I called the police from my house and told them that the man that was abusing me would be very angry when he found out I wasn’t at work for him to follow me home. That he would try to kill me and that I needed the police to be close and patrol the neighborhood and wait for the call. I told them I wanted to file a report.” The police told her to call when he shows up.
n
n
When the abuser realized Linda wasn’t at work he was furious just as she predicted. He called the house, she answered thinking it could be the police, but it was him. He told her that she had “disobeyed” and made a morbidly violent threat to her life. Her two co workers were guarding the entrances to the house while she hid in the closet. One of them called the police as soon as he pulled up.
n
n
“I was hidden in the master closet … shaking so bad that I thought we were having an earthquake… He made his way to my bedroom and that’s when I heard the police telling him to drop his weapon… I cried and cried with relief. There is much more to the story, but he never came back. I had to leave my house and go into hiding for a year with no address at the advice of the police and women’s shelters.”
n
n
“The 911 Cell Phone Bank program is a very worthwhile cause. I completely would have benefited from this program at that time. I felt hopeless.”
n
n
It’s sad to say that Linda’s story is one of many…
n
n
We hope all who read this can recognize the sincere help and comfort their donations bring these victims. To get involved, call us at 866-290-7864 or send an email to
re******@91**************.org
.
n
