Survivor Story

Hear first-hand how buying Partners Cards makes a difference in Dallas-Fort Worth

Natalie found the help she needed to escape abuse at The Family Place.

Photo courtesy of the Family Place

As the largest family violence nonprofit in Texas, The Family Place serves women, children, and men with free services including shelter, counseling, education, and much more to help victims lead lives free from abuse.

Every day brings stories that are both inspiring and heartbreaking, and Natalie's is one of them.

Like so many victims, Natalie grew up watching her mother endure several abusive relationships. Her mom suffered from both mental illness and substance abuse, so Natalie and her five younger siblings were shuffled in and out of foster care and stayed with various family members. When she was only 12, Natalie was left by herself to care for her siblings, who were all under the age of 10. She experienced sexual assault for many years, victimized by those close to her, but she never received help.

As a teenager Natalie longed to be loved, so she began to look for love in relationships with men. At 17 years old, she had her first run in with the law, when she was charged as an adult, put on probation, and kicked out of DISD. She moved in with an older boyfriend who started to abuse her. She became depressed and tried to commit suicide.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the end of Natalie’s story — but she still had obstacles to overcome. Natalie was determined to finish high school. She started online classes but was moving from one bad relationship to another. She had her first child in 2004. A few years later, she was introduced to The Family Place after an altercation with her boyfriend. Working to move forward, she continued her studies at community colleges.

In 2012, Natalie married an abuser, thinking he had changed. After six months, the abuse began again and she knew she had to get out of the relationship for the sake of her children. She came back to The Family Place and enrolled in a counseling program. Through the help of the legal team at The Family Place, she filed for divorce and ultimately went on to secure her independence by starting a successful business.

Natalie says counseling at The Family Place helped her heal from the inside out and gave her the tools she needed to become victorious over abuse. Now a strong advocate for victims of family violence, she is a member of Toastmasters and is continuing her education at Paul Quinn College studying business administration, fundraising, and philanthropy.

In the future, Natalie hopes to start a nonprofit to help those suffering from domestic violence, homelessness, and mental illness. She likes to say, “When you learn to dance in the rain, no storm can rain on your parade."

Stories like Natalie’s are an all too-common occurrence in our community, but The Family Place is dedicated to putting an end to family violence through their comprehensive services.

Wondering how you can support The Family Place? Buy a Partners Card. It grants you a 20 percent discount at retailers and 10 percent off at restaurants from over 750 participants in Dallas-Fort Worth from October 25-November 3.

One $70 Partners Card provides a night of safety for a victim fleeing family violence at The Family Place shelters.

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Free Food

Food Bank to host summer food giveaway at UNT Dallas campus

Photo by Michael Martin

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Two Dallas organizations are partnering on a big summer food giveaway: The North Texas Food Bank is joining forces with the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) with a mobile food distribution event at the UNT Dallas campus on Friday, July 18.

UNT Dallas and the NTFB already host a drive-through mobile pantry each month, but this one is specifically focused on children who are out of school for the summer.

Each participating family will receive about 60 pounds of food, including fresh produce, to help fill the gap left when school-provided meals are unavailable.

So far this year, the monthly mobile pantry events at UNT Dallas have provided approximately 140,000 pounds of food to more than 1,500 families and 7,000 people. Long lines usually form on University Hills Blvd. well before the gates open.

UNT Dallas has partnered with NTFB since 2020, hosting monthly mobile food distributions on campus. Each event is supported by student, faculty, and staff volunteers, providing relief to campus and community members. The university also operates the Trailblazers Care Pantry, an on-campus resource that provides groceries, hygiene products, and a Career Closet for students preparing for interviews or internships.

A recent Feeding America study found that Texas has the highest number of food-insecure people of any state, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranks third in the nation. Within NTFB’s 12-county service area, nearly 744,000 people, including more than 250,000 children, don’t always know where their next meal will come from. Over 60 percent of that population lives in Dallas County.

The July 18 food distribution is first-come, first-served, and no ID or pre-registration is required. Participants must arrive in a vehicle, as this is a drive-through-only event. It'll run from 8-11 am, or while supplies last, at the UNT Dallas campus in southern Dallas, at 7300 University Hills Blvd.

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