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A mother sells the only home that still felt like home, walks into a shelter with her kids, and stares down a system that keeps telling her to wait. That’s where Sarah’s story turns—when waiting becomes planning, and planning becomes movement fueled by a community that refuses to look away.

We pick up right after the hostage night that changed everything. Sarah maps a route to South Dakota, hoping for work and a chance to be near her grandmother. The new start almost holds: an apartment, a small business, daycare for her son. Then the signs arrive—strange voices at the door, love notes meant for no one she knows, and a call from daycare about a man demanding pickup. Even with her ex behind bars, another person is doing his bidding. It’s coercive control by proxy, and it forces a hard reset. With help from advocates, an emergency voucher, and gas cards, she chooses another town and another chance to feel safe.

Along the way, we talk frankly about how leaving abuse is a process. We confront slow police responses during COVID, the power of a single warrant to quiet months of terror, and the unglamorous reality of food pantries, diaper drives, and the math of survival. We sit with the emotional crash that hits after the crisis, the practical buy-a-taser-and-breathe steps, and the discipline of keeping addresses off the grid. And we honor what carried Sarah forward: listeners who shared, donated, and turned empathy into action. That collective care didn’t just cheer from the sidelines—it moved her across state lines and into a safer life.

Sarah leaves us with a clear call: love yourself, fight for yourself, and trust your gut, even when starting over hurts. If you’re a survivor, an ally, or someone learning how to show up better, this story will stay with you. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more survivors find a path to safety.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

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• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

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Hey friends — welcome back to Dismissed True Stories.
I’m your host, Elissa, and you’re probably already clocking that this episode sounds a little different.

No intro music.
 No disclaimer.
 Just me and you.

In the spirit of keeping it quick and honest, here’s the update:
 Sarah won’t be joining us today —
 but that’s actually for all the best reasons.

She’s safe.
 She’s happy.
 And she’s officially relocated.

Which, if you’ve been following along since episode one,
 you know how huge that is.
 It means she’s out of immediate danger,
 and finally has the chance to start settling into her next chapter.

So today, instead of a full episode,
 I just want to take a minute to say thank you.

Thank you for coming back week after week.
 Thank you for listening to Sarah’s story,
 for sharing it,
 for donating,
 and for showing up for her in ways that truly made a difference.

Because of that support — your support — Sarah gets to breathe again.
 And that’s what this work is all about.

Now, life is lifing — as it does —
 so I’m going to give her a little space to get settled and grounded.
 But hopefully, next week, we’ll be back with that girl chat we talked about in the last episode —
 a real conversation about how she’s feeling now that she’s safe,
 and what this next season of her life might look like.

Until then,
 thank you for being here,
 thank you for caring,
 and thank you for helping us do what we set out to do from the very beginning —
 help survivors feel seen, heard, and supported.

I’m Elissa,
 and this is Dismissed True Stories.
I’ll talk to you soon.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

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A fairy-tale start can hide a nightmare ending. Sarah thought she’d finally found steady ground: years of affection, travel across the U.S., a partner who bonded with her son and promised a safe future. Then pregnancy exposed the truth. The first assault wasn’t a warning—it was a line crossed, followed by contempt during a traumatic C‑section and a campaign to control her through access, threats, and the legal system’s delays.

We walk through the moments most people never hear: the lock changes that say you don’t live here anymore, belongings stacked like trash to humiliate, and the marks of control that appear after every move. There’s an RV bought by an unexpected ally, seven relocations, and hearts drawn in dust to remind her that hiding isn’t the same as safety. When a calm custody exchange lured her back for “one civil night,” it turned into hours of violence, strangulation, and a knife to the skin—followed by crocodile tears and a fake future meant to reset the cycle. She agreed to everything to survive the night, then chose action at first light, even as officials told her to wait weeks.

We don’t sanitize the fear or the system’s failures. We name the tactics—love bombing, isolation, strangulation, future faking—and call out how often abuse escalates during pregnancy. We also center what matters most right now: Sarah is days from losing housing and weeks from her abuser’s release. Shelters are full. The clock is loud. If you’ve ever wondered what tangible support looks like, this is it: sharing her story, contributing to relocation, and refusing to let indifference be the last word.

Listen, learn, and help Sarah get to safety. If this moved you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review—your voice helps more survivors find the lifelines they need.

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

You can hear the tension in Sarah’s voice before the first promise breaks. We open with care—clear content warnings, boundaries—then step into the hardest rooms of her life: three relationships that sold safety and delivered control. Each man arrives with a storyline of protection, family, or stability. Each one, in time, uses that storyline to manage her money, movements, and mind. We trace how love bombing recycles after breakups, how “screening” and “systems” can mask coercion, and how a dog’s collar on a kitchen table becomes the spark for a terrifying eruption of violence.

We also rewind to where the pattern takes root. Sarah is hungry, isolated, and young; survival means unlocked car doors, weekend begging scripts, and arrests that deepen a trauma bond with Boyfriend B. Affection is followed by paranoia, possessiveness, and neglect that stains the house and her memory. Later, Boyfriend C offers the feeling of being chosen—until a laugh triggers an assault in a hotel room. That barefoot run into the night marks a boundary: she will no longer accept harm disguised as love. It’s not a tidy victory, but it’s a turning point.

Beyond partners, we confront the power of institutions. An ex-husband in uniform stretches time as a weapon, exploiting stigma around sex work to strip her of credibility in court. Police call it “civil,” leaving her parked and powerless; a judge eventually recognizes the pattern, awarding a partial, imperfect balance. Through it all, Sarah keeps working, saving, and asking for help even when it costs her dignity—because survival is logistics as much as courage.

This chapter closes with a chill: the worst man is still ahead, and he’s the reason she still looks over her shoulder. Yet there’s community now—listeners who can witness, share, donate, and call to leave words she can carry. If the story moved you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs the pattern map, and leave a review so more people can find it. Your voice helps make safety possible.

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

The house was empty, the texts unanswered, and the silence said everything. After exposing a devastating betrayal—her husband’s affair with her mother—Sarah tried to rebuild the “right” way: a prepaid year of rent, a steady job, a car, and a simple plan to co‑parent. What followed maps the hidden terrain many survivors know too well: when direct control ends, post‑separation abuse slips into new uniforms—rumors, court filings, custody leverage, and a “civil matter” that keeps you paying to be heard.

We walk through the playbook. A smear from someone tied to law enforcement turns gossip into “fact.” A protection order becomes a wall between a mother and her children. Each court date bleeds savings. Each knock on a family door goes ignored. Then a single workplace policy violation triggers job loss; the title loan eats the car after a breakdown; rent runs out. Hunger narrows choices until the only option left is the one most people don’t want to understand: survival sex framed as a last, painful way to afford a lawyer and claw back access to her kids. It’s not glamour. It’s the economics of trauma meeting the bureaucracy of custody.

We also name the psychology underneath. When lies come from the people who raised and married you, red flags blur; danger can feel like care. Sarah’s clarity grows as she traces gaslighting, coercive control, and the difference between discipline and abuse. Along the way, we offer language for what’s happening—post‑separation abuse, systems abuse, reputational harm—so listeners can spot it in their lives and communities. And we point to concrete supports: hotlines, documentation, trauma‑informed strategy, and a verified GoFundMe to help Sarah secure safety as her former abuser nears release.

If this story moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear it, leave us a review to boost survivor voices, and call 1-844-TELL-DTS to leave your thoughts. Your share might be the lifeline another listener is waiting for.

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

A uniform, a cigarette break, and a teenager who just wanted to feel seen—what starts as attention quickly reveals the blueprint of grooming and coercive control. We follow Sarah as a 16-year-old pulled into an adult’s orbit, pressured into marriage through a pregnancy ultimatum, and cut off from school, work, and friends. The twist that lands like a gut punch: the person who should have protected her becomes part of the harm, pushing “practical” choices that deepen dependency and, later, crossing a boundary that shatters trust at its core.

Across the conversation, we map the mechanics of abuse in plain language: how image and authority hide predatory behavior, why gaslighting targets your sense of reality, and how economic abuse traps survivors even when the truth is in their hands. Sarah’s story makes visible the quiet tactics—smear narratives, isolation, financial leverage—that turn a normal request for a break into “proof” of unfitness. When emails expose an affair denied to her face, the denial continues, under the guise of “counseling for the kids.” We talk frankly about why leaving isn’t simple when you have no GED, no savings, and a baby in your arms, and we point to what real support should look like: safe housing, childcare, documentation, and people who believe you before the receipts show up.

You’ll leave with a clearer lens for red flags—age secrecy, ultimatums, control of money and movement, triangulation inside a family—and a renewed respect for survivor instincts. If this story hits close to home, know you’re not alone and that help exists. Share this episode with someone who needs a reality check about coercive control, and if you have thoughts or a story to add, call 1-844-TELL-DTS. Subscribe, leave a review, and help us reach more listeners who might still be searching for the words to name what they’re living.

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

A mother of three children with special needs has been running for her life for nearly six years. Now, with her abuser scheduled for release from prison in November—a man who told a judge he's coming to find her—time is running out.

Sarah's story begins with profound childhood trauma. At nine years old, she lost her father to cancer, only to be sexually abused by a family friend weeks later. Her mother quickly remarried and left Sarah to navigate her grief alone, setting the stage for a lifetime of seeking love and safety in all the wrong places. This childhood betrayal formed the foundation for cycles of abuse that would follow her into adulthood.

What makes Sarah's case so disturbing is that she's done everything "right." She's filed police reports across multiple jurisdictions, testified in court, obtained restraining orders, and relocated her family repeatedly. Yet the system continues to fail her at every turn. The Address Confidentiality Program, designed to protect survivors like her, processed her application so slowly that her real address became public record—accessible to anyone, including her abuser who has a documented history of shooting a previous girlfriend.

Sarah's resilience shines through her determination to rebuild her life while protecting her children. She's self-published three books, including "Memoirs of a Mama on the Run," documenting her experiences and offering guidance to other survivors. Through social media, she shares her story, hoping to raise awareness about the gaps in our protection systems for domestic violence victims.

This powerful first episode of Season 3 challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths about how domestic violence cases are deprioritized and mishandled by authorities. Statistics show women are 70 times more likely to be killed in the two weeks after leaving an abuser than at any other time in the relationship, making these systemic delays potentially lethal. As we follow Sarah's journey, we're left asking: What happens when you follow every rule and it's still not enough to keep you safe?

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

What choices would you make to survive when the system designed to protect you repeatedly fails? Season 3 of Dismissed: True Stories follows one mother's harrowing journey as she flees domestic violence with her children across multiple states for nearly six years.

The nightmare begins with a knife at her throat and a terrifying threat: "He told me he was going to cut my scalp off and said if I screamed, he was going to make sure my kids have nightmares for the rest of their lives." What follows is not just an escape, but a desperate fight for survival that continues long after leaving her abuser. Despite filing "a whole string of police reports from multiple cities, multiple states," safety remains elusive as her ex-partner refuses to give up the pursuit.

This season delves deep into the reality of domestic violence survival—the homelessness, hunger, sleeping on floors, and constant relocation that becomes normalized in the quest for safety. We explore how abuse ripples through generations, with our survivor noting that her mother was "truly my first abuser in life." When backed into a corner with few options left, survivors face impossible choices: "Have you ever considered sex work?" becomes a legitimate question when conventional paths to stability have been exhausted.

Dismissed: True Stories centers the voices that society too often ignores, challenging listeners to witness the full complexity of domestic violence survival. This podcast is created by survivors for survivors, acknowledging that leaving an abuser is often just the beginning of a much longer journey. Subscribe now and join us on October 3rd for a powerful season that refuses to look away from the stories our society too frequently dismisses.

🚨🚨Help Sarah get to safety:🚨🚨

✨👉 CookinCleaninMama’s Linktree 👈✨

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

Haley McLean shares the story of Hope's Second Chance, Michigan's only animal sanctuary specifically created to help domestic violence survivors escape with their pets. She built this solution after seeing firsthand how survivors were forced to choose between safety and their animals.

• Founded during COVID when Haley realized shelters couldn't accommodate pets due to liability and space issues
• Pets often face abuse or are used as control mechanisms by abusers, making them overlooked victims
• Provides temporary housing for all kinds of animals while survivors establish safe living situations
• Animals receive veterinary care they've often been denied in abusive homes
• Pets frequently show trauma responses and PTSD symptoms from witnessing abuse
• The sanctuary provides a calm, stable environment with loving care for traumatized animals
• Average stays last about three months while survivors rebuild their lives
• Operates completely through volunteers with no paid staff
• Currently reopening after financial challenges and seeking foster homes
• Survivors consistently demonstrate incredible strength in rebuilding their lives

Visit Hope’s Second Chance to learn more about volunteering, fostering, or donating to help survivors and their pets escape domestic violence together.

Zoom link for Tala’s Q&A: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/U1HL5kOnQnuNw2lFSBwx9A

 📣 Helpful Facts

• Nearly 50–70% of abuse survivors delay leaving if they can’t bring pets (Human Resources).
• Studies show up to 90% of abusers threaten or hurt pets as a control tactic (banfieldfoundation.org).

🐾 National & Directory Resources

• Safe Havens for Pets – A searchable national directory run by the Animal Welfare Institute to locate local programs that shelter pets of domestic violence victims (Animal Welfare Institute, Safe Havens for Pets).
• Purina Purple Leash Project & RedRover – Grants and support to equip domestic violence shelters to take in survivors with pets; aims for 25% of U.S. shelte

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Send us a text

Dignity arrives in unexpected forms—sometimes as a toothbrush, sometimes as a pair of socks, sometimes as a space that says "you're seen and you're not alone." Today, I'm taking you on a journey that's both heartbreaking and hopeful: the creation of Tala's Closet, a free resource center for domestic violence survivors.

Tala Smith was brilliant, brave, and full of promise before domestic violence stole her future. Her mother Connie shared that Tala lived by the motto "see a need, fill a need"—words that crystallized into a vision for creating something meaningful from unimaginable loss. When survivors flee abuse, they often leave everything behind. The practical necessities—hygiene products, clothing, diapers, formula—become overwhelming obstacles to independence. Tala's Closet removes those barriers by providing essentials with no questions asked, no judgment passed.

The powerful synchronicity of timing cannot be overlooked. Days before our grand opening, a domestic violence homicide occurred just streets away from Tala's Closet. This devastating reminder of why our work matters has only strengthened our resolve. We're not just opening a closet; we're creating sacred space where dignity is restored, where survivors know they're believed, and where a community stands ready to help them rebuild. For the woman sleeping in her car tonight, for the mother who left with nothing but her children, for anyone wondering if escape is possible—we're building something different. We're continuing Tala's legacy by seeing needs and filling them, one toothbrush, one clean shirt, one act of compassion at a time. Check the show notes to learn how you can support this mission and help transform lives in your own community.

https://watersedgebuckeyelake.com/talas_closet

Amazon wishlist coming soon!

Looking for ways to give back or help out? Give Waters Edge Community Center a follow on Facebook and send them a message. Their dedicated volunteers will be in touch with you soon. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FwvsmLYRk/

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788

Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS

Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.

🔗 Follow Along:

• TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
• Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
• Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood

Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.

[email protected]

Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.

All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound