Success Stories
The following dialogues discuss journeys of past clients from the perspective of associates at License to Freedom. We are proud to have offered our services to each of these women on their respective journeys, to provide support for them until they took the brave step of reaching out for help. Here are three stories that have helped shaped License to Freedom become the organization it is today.
Silva’s Story
Silva was 15 when an Iraqi family from America wanted to find their son a young wife in Iraq that was clueless, so they could control her. The girl's family was so scared of the situation in Iraq that they moved to Syria and they really wanted their daughter to get married. When the family asked for Silva’s hand, they told her they would treat her like a princess and give her all that her heart desired. Silva, a 15 year old girl, of course believed all their lies. After getting married, they brought her to the United States, where the husband started showing his real personality: he made her a servant in his
parent's house and always left her there for weeks at a time, Silva had no access to anything.
One day, Silva went with her sister-in-law to the store to return something. They asked for her social security number and she didn’t have a clue what that was, because her husband hadn’t applied for one. When she got home, she told her husband to get her social security number and her husband started yelling at her and said "You don’t need it. As long as you obey us and do as we say, you won’t be in trouble." For two years, Silva was abused and treated very badly by her husband. Silva had a neighbor and they would always hear her cry at night. One morning, her neighbor asked her what was wrong, so Silva told her, and explained everything. The neighbor said, "You can't live this way anymore, and if he hits you again, you need to call the police." One night, Silva’s husband came home angry and hit Silva, like so many other times, but this time, she called 911, although she was frightened about what would happen to her. The policed arrived instantly, arrested her husband, and called License To Freedom right away. License to Freedom helped her find a safe place to live and filed a restraining order against her husband and found her an attorney to help her with all her paperwork.
For every step of her journey, License To Freedom never left her side. We got her a divorce and applied for her emigration status. Silva was a very strong girl through all of this, her community and everyone was against her, but she kept her head high and stood up for her rights. A year later, she received her green card, a driver’s license, and got a job and is now attending college. Three years later, she became a U.S citizen and graduated from college and now she is helping women and is volunteering at License To Freedom to help women who are voiceless that went through the same trauma as she did. Now she is ready to transfer to SDSU, she is stronger than ever and a different woman with a new attitude and more knowledge, and has a different view of life.
“...her community and everyone was against her, but she kept her head high and stood up for her rights. A year later, she received her green card, a driver’s license, and got a job and is now attending college. ”
Sara’s Story
I met Sara for the first time in my office, she was shy and timid. She was very scared, lonely and couldn't trust anyone. She explained how her husband tried to kill her, humiliated her by shaving her head and eyebrows and stabbed her with a knife several times. She told me that she was kidnapped by her husband and forced into a marriage that she didn't want. She had no choice in the matter.
She was in the Middle East at that time and there was no way to report it to the police. Luckily, she reported it to us once she arrived to the USA as a refugee. When we started to work with her, she was wearing a wig to cover her shaved head, she was suffering from PTSD and had frequent nightmares. We took her case very seriously and hired an attorney to represent her and provide her with support.
We also provided her with crisis intervention services. Within the first week that we provided her with individual therapy, she started to regain her self esteem, became empowered to accept herself and start to move forward in her life.
As her hair started to grow back, and her case in the court started moving forward, Sara transformed into a strong, dedicated, and committed woman who could look forward to a new chapter in her life. She is going to college and her court case is about to be finalized. She is no longer lonely. She found her family at License to Freedom, someone who can understand her and support her. She expressed her gratitude for us in helping her find a lawyer, settle her case, help her regain her liberty and never giving up on her. She can now tell her story to the world with confidence. The story of hope and dreams.
“Within the first week that we provided her with therapy, she started to regain her self-esteem...”
Dina’s Story
A 30 year-old woman with three children moved to San Diego from a different state with a husband who abused her and the children for many years. She left him and then had extreme challenges. A good legal team from our agency helped her obtain a divorce, restraining orders, and child custody. Our mental health team provided therapy services to her and her children in their home. Her car did not work and she had no California driver’s license. She cannot take public transportation alone because of her cultural beliefs and her fear that the husband who abused her could see her alone and harm her again. We worked with her, along with driving teachers, to obtain her license. We found mechanics we trust who fixed her car. We worked with her at our office to apply for jobs and look for college classes so she could study for a medical degree. She is now stable with a part-time job and able to take care of her family while she attends community college.
We use all of our energy to make sure each client is cared for and has the voice and choice to move on to the next chapter of her life. It is this kind of practical and caring support that we seek to give our many clients at License to Freedom.
“We worked with her, along with driving teachers to obtain her license...She is now stable with a part-time job and able to take care of her family...””