Women's Resource Center helps metro Atlanta families rebuild after escaping domestic violence
Every year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says more than 15 million children witness domestic violence, and some of those children live right here in metro Atlanta.
For Sherri Banks, walking away from an abusive marriage meant starting over with nothing but her two daughters and the clothes on her back.
"I didn't know how to break it to my kids I was leaving their dad," Banks said. "It was a tough moment. It's like I had to leave with only the clothes on my back."
In 2018, Banks and her daughters found safety and support at the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence in DeKalb County. Her youngest daughter, Zhion, was just 6 years old at the time.
"I didn't think too much of it," Zhion recalled. But as she got older, she began to understand the impact of what her family had endured.
Through the organization, Zhion joined other children in counseling sessions, field trips, and creative activities like arts and crafts and cooking lessons; all designed to help kids rebuild trust and stability after trauma.
"They were super fun and easy to talk to," Zhion said. "They understand."
Experts say that kind of support is crucial. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that exposure to domestic violence can lead to emotional, behavioral, and mental health struggles for children.
"They might be wondering, how is this person that maybe I've had a really good connection with now a harmful person that we as a family have to stay away from? Why have we had to leave behind everything that's familiar? My community, my school, my room, my toys, you know, all the things that really kind of anchored me and gave me a sense of structure and security?" explained Barbara Gibson, Chief Program Officer at the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence.
Gibson said many children cope with anger, anxiety, or regression in school, while others struggle to express what they feel.
For Zhion, now 13, therapy and coping skills have helped her heal, especially after her father's death less than a year after they left home.
"I've matured a lot," she said. "At school, I try to be friends with everybody because you never know what someone's going through at home."
It's a lesson rooted in compassion, and proof, she says, that with the right kind of support, it's possible to overcome even the hardest chapters.