My name is Uma, I am a 30 year old Indian women with 2 children, boys aged 4 & 7 years of age. I was referred to Valley house by the police as I was fleeing domestic abuse from my husband.
I had been married to my husband for ten years, we got married in India and we have been living in the UK for the past 9 years.
At the start of our marriage our relationship seemed to be OK, however sometimes my husband would get angry and would shout at me, but I put up with this as I had no family or friends here in the UK.
A couple of years ago my husband lost his job and that’s when the abuse got worse, he became more aggressive physically and verbally. I did not report any of this to the police as I didn’t know I could or how too.
Earlier this year we all travelled to India for a holiday and whilst there as I was with my family, I got the courage to tell my husband I no longer wanted to remain in a relationship with him. The became angry and my husband then took the children in the night and brought the children back to the UK without my knowledge.
When I came to Valley House, I was very emotional due to not having my children, staff at Valley House provided me with daily emotional support as I was completely lost with out my children
I was also given lots of practical support, staff supported me to register with a local GP so my mental health could be addressed, staff then supported me to get my own bank account and get benefits in my own name.
The family support workers supported me to get some legal advice around my children and eventually I managed to get my children back in my care. My case worker helped me and my children to stay safe by completing regular risk assessments and safety plans, this made me feel very safe which eventually helped me gain my confidence.
As I grew in my confidence, I was ready to do the domestic abuse work and I completed a package of support around domestic abuse, I done some group work and completed work around understanding what domestic abuse is, how it affected my children and my rights.
I was also able to understand my emotions better and have a good understanding of what a health relationship should be like.
As I grew stronger, I was able to finally make a statement to the police about the abuse from my husband and what I had been going through.
I have now left Valley House and started a new life with my children and I couldn’t have done it without support, I feel safe.
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