A survivor’s story: Sophia
Sophia had six kids with a man who, when he became enraged, took a hammer to her knuckles. When she had had enough of it, she fled to her mother’s house, where he found her. He discovered her at her cousin’s house the second time she left. Eventually, things became so desperate she crossed two continents to escape him. Many people leave Honduras because of gang violence and intimidation, food insecurity, or climate instability. Sophia left because of her husband’s brutality. On a hot morning in May, Sophia gathered her six children and, with one suitcase, headed north for opportunity and a better life. Because of insufficient funds, she would have to work her way through Central America and then Mexico. At each stop, Sophia worked at whatever she could find: sometimes housekeeping, sometimes construction cleanup. After she accumulated enough money, she and her children moved north to a new town. They found transportation in the back of a pickup truck or on the top of a train.
Riding La Bestia, Sophia and her family eventually made their way to the Texas border. There, she met a priest who works with the director of the LAHR. Subsequently, Sophia and her six children flew to Los Angeles by airplane and were shuttled to The Los Angeles House of Ruth. After Sophia was secure within the haven of our secure shelter, she was free to start a new life. Here, the staff nurtured her, supported her in finding a job, assisted her in enrolling her children in school, offered counseling, and helped her obtain permanent housing. Most importantly, she and her children are now safe from the terror of domestic abuse.
