Zuleica

Zuleica was the survivor speaker at our 14th Annual Community of Conscience Breakfast. We thank her for her courage in sharing her path to safety and healing. 

Content warning: contains emotional and physical abuse 

Zuleica is a mother of three who moved from Cape Verde to the States nine years ago. She worked at a barbershop, where she met a man who acted kind to her at first. Zuleica was undocumented, and he said he’d help her get her Green Card. She trusted him, and they started dating. Six months later, they moved in together.

Once they moved in together, they got married. After a few months, he started coming home drunk and arguing with Zuleica.* He was controlling and violent.

The first time he hurt Zuleica, he started to argue with her while she was holding her son. He pushed her, and she fell into the wall. Her cousin heard what happened and called the police. The police told Zuleica that he could either spend the night in jail or come home. He called her crying and promised not to do it again. She believed him, so she told him to come home.

The second time it happened was worse. He started an argument with Zuleica, and she said she was tired of his controlling behavior and wanted to break up with him. She turned to walk away from the conversation, and he knocked her unconscious. The next thing she knew, Zuleica woke up in the hospital.

The hospital called Casa Myrna on her behalf, and she found help right away with Maria from the Legal Advocacy Program. She was placed into the Mary Lawson Foreman shelter but had to stay in the hospital until she recovered. Immediately after, Zuleica had to face her abuser in court. She was grateful to have Maria go with her and help her through a very tough divorce, which was finalized in July 2020.

Through the court process, Zuleica learned that the court had taken her ex to jail, and they urged her to get a restraining order against him. At the trial, she learned that her ex tried to hide her body from the police and make it look like she wasn’t home. They almost didn’t find her.

While the divorce was a huge step forward, Zuleica still needed support to help heal and grow. She stayed at the shelter for a year and enrolled in classes for medical interpretation, hospitality and hotel industry, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Casa Myrna staff helped her with immigration support and getting her Green Card. And our Counseling Team helped Zuleica manage her depression and talk openly about her feelings and experiences.

After a year, Zuleica moved into her own apartment, and staff helped her furnish her new home. Casa Myrna found child care to watch her son while she goes to work doing hair and braids. The staff helped Zuleica build real life skills and build her career.

Zuleica’s goals for the future are to buy her own home and open her own salon. With Casa Myrna’s support and her determination to heal and find her own path forward, she knows that her dreams are possible.

*Substance use does not cause domestic violence but may escalate controlling and abusive behaviors.