Between 26 and 40 years old (49%). (Women ages 18-25 make up 25% of ADV clients and women ages 41-55 make up 20%).
Head of household
Having an educational level ranging from ninth grade to some amount of college
Employed, but earning less than $1,000 per month
Other characteristics
39% are still married to their abusers, but only 25% still live with them
A majority have 1-3 children
Ethnicity
Caucasian 21%
African-American 11%
Hispanic 57%
Native-American 7%
Asian 3%
Age
Youth (Ages 0-18) 59%
Adult (Ages 19-50) 35%
Elderly (Over age 50) 5%
Kimberly
Kimberly Casa de Paz Client
"If I hadn’t come here, I would probably be dead because he would have killed me. It was getting worse and worse, although I didn’t see that at the time. But I know that now. The explosions were getting closer together and worse."
Norma came to our residential facility, Casa de Paz, with her three children and five months pregnant. She had many obstacles to overcome. She was undocumented and only spoke Spanish. She had been imprisoned by her abuser for five years; she was forbidden to go outside and hadn’t seen daylight for that entire time. She stayed in the apartment with the drapes closed and was only allowed to take care of the children. She was physically abused on a daily basis.
But Norma was motivated to get herself and her children healthy. She graduated from our program after several months of intense work and was accepted with her children into a two-year transitional program in another city. She and her children are now living in their own apartment; she has a job and feels great about herself and her achievements.
