►
From YouTube: FJC Survivor's Story - Elisa (full)
Description
The Family Justice Center (FJC) is a safe place where victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse can come for help. At the Buncombe County Family Justice Center, survivors can get access many different services in one location and begin their journey towards strength, safety, and hope.
You can visit the FJC at 35 Woodfin Street in downtown Asheville.
For more information about the Family Justice Center, visit https://www.buncombecounty.org/fjc
A
My
story,
I
guess,
has
chapters
and
I
went
to
a
small
private
college
for
my
first
year
and
I
was
sexually
assaulted
at
a
fraternity
party
and
it
very
much
in
denial
that
it
had
happened
and
I.
It
was
the
last
a
couple
of
months
of
my
here.
My
freshman
year
and
I
went
home
for
the
summer
and
told
my
parents
I
didn't
want
to
go
back
to
school
and
coming
from
a
family
that
really
values
education
that
was
kind
of
a
shock
to
everybody.
A
But
my
parents
didn't
ask
too
many
questions
and
then
I
took
some
time
off
and
went
back
to
college
and
really
just
got
through
it
and
then,
after
that,
I
started
to
get
help.
I
was
fortunate
because
my
family
did
support
that
part
of
the
process
and
I
wasn't
really
ready
to
talk
about
it.
I
wasn't
ready
to
really
even
look
at
it
and
actually
say
that
it
was
something
that
had
happened
to
me
even
to
myself,
so
it's
been
probably
a
15
year
journey
and
what
it
culminated
in.
A
It
ended
with
him
getting
assault
or
him
assaulting
me
and
getting
arrested,
and
my
neighbor
saw
it
and
called
the
police,
and
after
that
experience,
unfortunately,
I
actually
stayed
for
a
couple
more
years
and
when
the
marriage
finally
ended,
I
realized.
It
was
time
for
me
actually
start
talking
about
all
of
this
and
I
realized
how
interrelated
it
was.
A
A
A
I
think
that
one
of
the
first
things
I
did
was
questioned
whether
or
not
I
was
actually
a
victim
and
whether
I
deserved
to
get
help
and
I
found
a
way
to
diminish
everything
that
had
was
happening
and
ways
to
talk
myself
out
of
it,
so
that
part
of
it
was
really
challenging.
For
me,
I
also
I
felt
terrified
I.
Think
one
of
my
biggest
fears
was,
if
I
get
this
help.
A
First
of
all,
it's
scary
to
think
that
you
have
to
actually
start
facing
your
demons,
but
I
also
was
legitimately
scared
of
what
he
would
do
when
I
got
help.
So
that
was
a
scary
part
of
the
process
and
then
I
think
probably
a
little
bit
sad
to
realize
that
this
was
my
life
story
and
that
and
I
really.
What
really
wasn't
much
I
could
do
to
go
back
and
change
that,
but
that
I
was
in
control
of
what
it
would
look
like.
Moving
forward.
A
I
think
a
lot
of
my
journey
had
to
do
with
finding
the
right,
counselor
and
I
ended
up
finding
the
right
counselor
through
our
voice,
as
I
started,
to
rediscover
my
worth
being
able
to
tell
myself
like
wow.
This
is
not
something
that
you
need
to
stay
in,
one
of
the
things
that
I
lost
in
the
process
of
my
sexual
assault
and
Bernard.
The
experience
of
my
sexual
assault
and
the
trauma
of
that
was
my
self-worth.
I
didn't
really
I
definitely
hated
everything
about
my
body.
A
Probably
one
of
my
biggest
frustrations
was
having
friends
and
family
who
are
so
close
to
me
that
I
felt
I
felt
so
alone.
One
of
my
counselors
described
it
to
me
once
like,
as
almost
like,
a
parent
with
a
child
in
a
wheelchair
and
wanting
to
walk
for
the
kid
but
not
being
able
to,
and
another
big
challenge,
for
me,
I
think
was
that
my
the
timing
of
my
assault
was
sexual
assault
for
sure
was
still
not
talked
about.
A
To
live
in
a
community
that
is
responding
to
sexual
and
domestic
violence,
and
you
know
child
abuse
and
elder
abuse
in
a
way
that
is
supportive,
and
that
makes
the
experience
as
convenient
as
possible
for
the
survivor,
regardless
of
where
one
is
in
his
or
her
journey,
whether
it's
the
beginning
of
the
crisis
or
it's
been
years.
Having
that
community
support
would
have
just
sort
of
released
that
Sigma
of
shame
of
feeling
so
much.
A
Shame
and
embarrassment
about
the
experience
and
feeling
terrified
to
walk
through
the
doors
of
a
building
and
know
that
it's
just
step
one
and
that
there's
this
long
journey
that
comes
afterwards
and
for
a
lot
of
people.
In
my
case,
it
didn't
involve
going
to
court,
but
I
know
that
that
extends
it
even
more
and
makes
it
even
more
traumatizing.
So
I
really
think
that
that
what
the
Family
Justice
Center
will
bring
to
this
community
is
even
more
support
and
starting
to
release
that
that
stigma
of
shame.