Samantha's Escape: Surviving Domestic Abuse in Florida

This research paper is a dedicated escape plan for Samantha Thornton, a twenty-six-year-old female who is attempting to escape a violent relationship with her husband of eight years. She has three children, Artemisia (age 8), Atticus (age 5), and Baylen (age 2). Samantha has lived in isolation for the past eight years since she does not have a support system to lean on in her time of need. She currently lives in Pasco County, Florida and wishes to remain least intrusive on her children’s lives, therefore, she does not wish to leave the county, file a police report, or an injunction now. This plan is dedicated to her and her children’s escape from the abuse. This is the most critical as well as dangerous phase of the abuse because her husband

Samantha contacted the shelter in regards to her situation and asked if there was anything that she could do. She told the victim’s advocate, Deanna, that she would not be able to drive out to the shelter since she did not have a car. Deanna informed Samantha that the shelter was full, however, that there were still options since Samantha was of “high risk” (Lebrecht, 2017). Deanna stated that Samantha’s priority was to make an “Emergency Backpack”. Inside the backpack includes all important documents including; social security cards, identifications, passports, and cash. She also mentioned that it was a good idea to have a “9-1-1 Cellphone”. Deanna explained that a 9-1-1 Cellphone is any cellphone that is fully charged and can make phone calls to law enforcement if needed. Deanna and Samantha created and went over a safety plan fitting to Samantha’s needs and the make-up of her story (See Appendix

Samantha made an appointment with Wells Fargo, who stated that they could create a regular bank account and give Samantha a credit card with a five-hundred-dollar limit. The bank clerk, Christina suggested that if Samantha wanted a savings account, she should go to a different bank, this way she is not consistently checking her savings account so that it can properly build up over time (Delicata, 2017). Christina was also able to go over the monthly expenses and fill out a 2017 budget sheet (See Appendix D).

Long Term Goal:

The short-term goal for Samantha is making sure that the abuse does not progress to the level of where family violence threatens the life of her children or eventually leaves her children motherless. Samantha also is starting to see the angry habits of her husband show reflection within her son, Atticus. Her hope is by getting her children out of an abusive household it will eventually break the cycle of the violence.

The long-term goal is hopes that Samantha can form her own identity and independence. She hopes that her children will develop without the abuse in their lives and that her husband will seek help for his power and control