Maria is extremely grateful to Casa de Misericordia for their understanding, counseling, support and help. Maria shared that when she met Jose, their relationship began moving quickly. At first, he was very kind and introduced me to his parents and family.
When we got married, he arranged for me to obtain a visa so that I could come into the United States. She said, “We agreed that our children would have a better future if they were born in the US.” It was during our first pregnancy that I observed how often he went out to drink with his friends. When my son was born, I tried to keep Jose occupied with helping me care for the baby. Jose complained and said that taking care of the children is a woman’s duty. That’s how it was in his family and that’s how it would be now.
“When I confronted Jose in front of his parents, his father reprimanded me quickly and told me that I needed to be put in my place. Jose called me useless, told me that I was worthless, called me ungrateful and other inappropriate names. He accused me of having married him out of convenience to fix my legal status. It was he who approached me and sought me out to go out with him. His drinking habits continued to worsen and increase. After so many altercations with my husband, and after moving from one place to another to get away from him, a counselor with whom I spoke to on the phone told me about Casa de Misericordia.
It was Casa de Misericordia that helped me get the intervention I needed. “It wasn’t easy. I had become completely dependent on him. I felt lost, but Casa gave me hope. I am thankful to them for all the support they have gave me and my children. I continue attending classes at the education center. They offer classes for sewing, cooking, reading, computers, music and much more. I also continue attending their support groups. With their help, I was able to begin the process to obtain immigration status. Today, I can travel with my children to visit my family in Houston. I am strong mother who has come a long way. My name is Maria and I am a survivor of domestic violence.”
Casa de Misericordia is a non-profit organization that provides programs and services with the support of grants and donations. They are a proud member of the United Way of Laredo family of agencies. Your support of United Way, helps to ensure that agencies like Casa de Misericordia are able to help families in our community. They have caseworkers and counselors to help their clients and families.
For more information on how you can support the United Way of Laredo or any of their network of agencies contact the United Way at uwlaredo@unitedwaylaredo.org or visit their website at www.unitedwaylaredo.org If you are in need of community resources and are not sure where to turn dial 2-1-1 for information on programs and services in available in our community.
