Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2022

Gulf Coast Center
for Nonviolence
Making Strides Despite COVID Barriers
Hannah Booker.
COAST NOTE
story by Cherie Ward photo courtesy of Hannah Booker
When domestic violence forces someone to leave their home, the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence often becomes their safe haven.
Leaving a domestically dangerous situation is not an easy task and Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence CEO Stacy Riley said COVID-19 continues to be a barrier. “But, we are resilient,” Riley said. “We’ve found inventive ways to continue to do what we do for survivors and avoid further health impacts to ourselves.”
In 2021, the center helped about 14,000 people within the six southernmost counties through the crisis hotline. The center received calls seeking assistance with emergency shelter, sexual assault, survivors of homicide, and court advocacy and legal services. More than 30,000 people were also reached through educational programs.
For the past 40 years, the center has helped remove barriers for those looking to escape relationships with an aspect of domestic violence, including abuse survivor Hannah Booker. “At my lowest point, I was homeless,” Booker said. “My rights to my kids were terminated, and
I was getting beaten beyond recognition daily and had track marks all over my arms. I wanted to die. I prayed out for God to save me. I could not do it by myself.”
Booker said within mere hours of her prayer, her ex-husband profusely beat her in a public place with witnesses, and a bystander called the police. Her ex-husband was arrested, and Booker was sent to the center for help. “It changed my life,” she said. “The center believed in me and I believed in myself. They saved me.”
Booker, now two years clean and sober, lives in an apartment with her children and is studying to become a Certified Peer Support Specialist. She's working at a drug and alcohol treatment center to help people overcome addictions and past traumas. “We’re flourishing,” she said. “I’ve been given an opportunity to use my story to give back. I give all of the glory to God and I’m beyond grateful for the center.”
Call the nonviolence center’s 24/7 crisis hotline at 800.800.1396
if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence. Riley said one phone call could make a difference in your life or the life of someone else.
18 | September 2022
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