Welcoming survivors to new life

Lucy* put her kids to bed. She prayed. Then she made a phone call.

On the other end of the line, Aida Segura’s phone rang. It was late on a Saturday night — a time when the director for Catholic Charities House of Peace usually tries not to take calls. But sometimes she does, and something told her to answer.

Lucy was looking for help leaving her husband and didn’t know where to go or what help was available. Aida listened attentively and asked questions to understand the urgency of Lucy’s situation.

She described the House of Peace program for survivors of domestic violence and invited Lucy to come to an appointment Monday. There was one space available for a family. If Lucy could come, they could discuss whether she and her children would join.

“The name says it all,” Lucy said. “When I entered this house, I felt peace.”

From the day she walked through the door at House of Peace, Lucy said she felt welcomed, included and safe to be herself.

“I had no home. I didn’t know where I was going to live after here,” she said. “But I started to feel happy. I started to feel free.”

That is the kind of welcome Aida and her team provide.

“This ministry is about open arms,” Aida said. “It’s about unconditional acceptance of where you are at and providing that restful place, that safe space for you to feel accepted, included. You can relax, breathe, enjoy.”

Lenny, a case aide on the overnight staff, said her work at House of Peace is about giving families attention, love and care. “I will receive every woman who comes here and share with them the joy I experience,” she said.

House of Peace is a transitional home for those recovering from domestic violence. It welcomes six families every six months, offering them space and resources to heal, empower and sustain themselves. It was born out of the Phoenix Group, a support group for Latinas — Lenny is a member — that began meeting at a Lake County parish in 2010.

Both ministries were a direct response by the parish to the growing number of Latina immigrants in the community who were struggling with domestic violence while trying to adapt to a new life in a new country. Although there were other domestic violence services in the area, none were specifically for Spanish-speaking immigrants who had different cultural understandings and values.

Through a combined effort of the women in the Phoenix Group, the parish and the community-at-large, House of Peace opened in 2011 and became a Catholic Charities program in 2018. The model of women seeking change for themselves, combined with community support, enables House of Peace and Phoenix Group to continue to flourish today.

When mothers and children move out of House of Peace at the end of their six-month stays, the Phoenix Group is a way their sisterhood and community continue. They process their healing and experiences of survival together, learning from each other, supporting each other and celebrating successes.

“Part of the healing is to make the human connections that restore those empty places in us,” said Aida. “We try to follow Jesus Christ in that way. House of Peace is for everyone.”

A few years have passed since Lucy and her children moved out of House of Peace. They have a beautiful home and are thriving. Lucy is studying, working and saving money. She exercises and takes care of herself. She is starting a business. She and one of her best friends, a fellow House of Peace alum, go back every week to volunteer with the Phoenix Group. Lucy is the group’s Zumba instructor.

“They named themselves the Phoenix Group after the strong mythical bird that suffers but sheds its old ways and rises to welcome new life,” Aida said.

Once Lucy was married to someone who tried to prevent her from learning, exercising, working, saving and having friends. She felt despondent, rejected and suffocated.

Today, she leads a community of friends — all survivors like her — in dance. Empowered by unconditional love and acceptance, she rises and welcomes new life.

*Name changed.