It took me 7 months to gain the courage to post this…& its time. ❤️‍🩹 When I posted this video of my daughter & I 👉🏽@Loving Single I never imagined the response. It was #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth & I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. I wanted other domestic violence survivors to know they weren’t alone. But when the video went viral, I became paralyzed w/ overwhelm. ❣️the amount of women who also had the same story. ❣️the amount of young people who related to my daughter. ❣️the suport & prayers from people all over the world ❣️the amount of hate from others saying I did it for clout & attention; accusing me of horrible things ❣️fear that my daughter’s father would see it & come after us again. I continued to document the next few days; simply for safety & legal puroses (as advised by my victims advocate, the police & the district attorney who was working on our case.) They had placed another warrant out for his arrest & within a week I was notified he fled the state. Amidst the overwhelm & fear, I knew I had to stand firm in my decision to advocate no matter what was being said about me or what my fear was screaming bc it is ultimately why survivors/victims of domestic violence never speak up in the first place. Despite my daughter’s & my decision to keep the original video up, (yes, she was aware & gave her full permission,) I chose not to post this video & others like it. I told pieces of our story but I wasnt ready to share this. But as the months passed, the dust settled & it was confirmed that her father was several thousand miles away from us; I realized that if I truly intended to be a beacon of hope for others, I needed to continue sharing our story. Because the truth is that its always darkest before the sun rises. And as each day passes & we continue to rebuild our life, we want others to know that they are capable of breaking free & doing the same. This is the life of domestic violence survivors & our children. #domesticviolence #singlemomsoftiktok #protectourchildren #momsoftiktok #storytime #domesticabuseawareness #healingjourney #domesticabuseawareness #foryou