| HISTORY: |
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| After The Storm, Inc was formed in January 2010 by Cherie Jones. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Kentucky. Ms. Jones and her four children are survivors of domestic violence. Her first memories of domestic violence began as a young child as she watched her mother suffer at the hands of her step father. |
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Although she grew up proclaiming that she would never allow herself to be in a domestic violence relationship, at the age of 15 she experienced her first personal encounter with it. For the next 20 years she found herself in and out of violent relationships.
In April 2006 she found herself exhausted, hopeless and at her wits end. She decided that enough was enough and found the inner strength to walk away from an eight year marriage. Her decision led her and her children to a local shelter that had no room for a family of five. They found themselves in a critical situation. To receive the help needed to get out of their dangerous situation they had to seek assistance from an agency not located in their hometown.
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Over the next several months she was able to find new housing through agency programs, file for divorce and start a new life. During this time Ms. Jones found herself very lonely and frustrated. Although there was some agency assistance she never felt like those helping her really understood her struggle. Many of them had never been in a domestic violence relationship or if they had it was never mentioned. Most of the friends she made while in the shelter either went back to their abuser or within a short period of time were involved in new domestic violence relationships. She had beat the odds but could not understand why so many others couldn’t and wouldn’t. |
Out of her concern for others freedom and safety Ms. Jones began to research the history and statistics of domestic violence. She learned a great deal during this time. The most frustrating thing that she discovered was that there were many resources available to victims and survivors of domestic violence that she had never found out about during her time of need. As she reflected on these things it saddened her to know that had her faith and inner strength not carried her through, she may have given up and gone back into the cycle of abuse that had stolen so many years of her life.
Ms. Jones has taken a vow to help as many people as possible. She feels that the best way to accomplish this is through empowerment and education. Many are deceived due to their lack of knowledge. Domestic violence knows no race, economic status, education levels, gender or age. It is a repetitive cycle that dehumanizes it’s victims and more often than not has a silent voice. |
