When Someone You Love Is Being Hurt
In a community as close as ours, you may be the safe person someone turns to. What you do matters — and you don't have to fix everything. You just have to be a steady door that stays open.
Start by believing them.
Don't interrogate or look for holes in the story. "I believe you, and this isn't your fault" can be the most healing sentence they hear all year. Listen more than you advise. Resist the urge to insist they leave today; leaving is the most dangerous moment, and the timing has to be theirs.
Keep their trust.
Don't confront the person harming them, and don't repeat what you've been told. Let your loved one control who knows, and when. Then walk beside them — offer to sit with them while they call 302-422-8058, or to look up CAMP Rehoboth or People's Place together.
Supporting a survivor is heavy work.
Tend to your own heart as well — the same Delaware advocates will talk with you, too, not only the person you're worried about.
The same Delaware advocates will talk with you, too, not only the person you're worried about.
The same Delaware advocates will talk with you, too.