Juanita’s Story

Ninety five percent of the women who come into a Teen Challenge center have experienced a violent assault by their boyfriends, finances or husbands.   Many have witnessed their mother’s being beaten or even killed in front of them.  Many have been abused as children.  Many times these experiences have driven them to use drugs and alcohol as a way of appeasing their pain.

This type of violence is not confined to a particular lifestyle, ethnic background, socioeconomic or religious group.    One in three women will experience a violent assault at the hands of her husband, finance or boyfriend at least once in her lifetime.  Teen Challenge has chosen to feature domestic violence in order to increase awareness about violence in the home. We have included links at the bottom of this page to provide you with more information and statistics on domestic violence, practical ways you and your church can assist victims and batterers, and resources that we trust will help you in addressing the topic of domestic violence in your congregations and ministries.  These features are dedicated to the thousands of women who have shared their stories with us and to the many victims who have come into our centers who have left “more than conquerors.”

One of these women is a Teen Challenge graduate named Juanita. Her story is not uncommon for many women who come into a Teen Challenge center and is also not uncommon, in many ways, for many women in the United States. 

Juanita was born into what she described as a good family.  She is the oldest of five children, a college graduate and the mother of three beautiful children.   Juanita’s first husband was abusive to her.  “He would try to push me around; there was so much manipulation and chaos. That relationship was the source of all of my pain.  I started using drugs, I was trying to numb the pain, I was suffering and it was the only thing I had to escape.”   That was the beginning of what would become a seven year addiction to heroin.

In 1993, her husband died of a drug overdose and she started dating another man.  “He was very controlling but I thought that it was true love, that this love would replace all of the hurt.  It was not what I expected, it was ownership.  If he supported me and fed me, I was supposed to listen to him.”  During this relationship Juanita suffered severe physical abuse.  “He would beat me and I looked so ugly.  I believed that during those beatings that I had it coming, because I wasn’t a good person, because I was using drugs.  It was his excuse to be violent. One time he beat me up so badly that I thought I was going to die.  I remember getting a bat and telling myself that even if I died trying, I was going to stop him this time.”

Although beaten unconscious, Juanita did not die that night.  Juanita tried to get help from the church but they were not familiar with the resources that were available to help her.  A few months later, she entered Teen Challenge.    “At Teen Challenge I learned about love.  I could trust people there.  They heard my heart.  I was able to share my pain, layer after layer after layer.   Now, I have a new freedom, I can trust, Teen Challenge has allowed me to experience that.”  Many Teen Challenge centers including the one Juanita attended are offered free of charge.  This is possible because of the support of individuals like you.  Your contribution to the work of Teen Challenge could literally save a life.  It can save someone like Juanita from the deadly cycle of drug addiction and violence.

Upon graduating the program, Juanita has worked at a Teen Challenge woman’s home ever since. “I tell the women who come into our center that God is real, that God knows their pain, that God is a God of healing, and that because of what God has done in my life I no longer need to do drugs.” 

To receive confidential information including services that can help, and for information regarding safe houses in your area, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-722-SAFE or visit http://www.ndvh.org.

What You Should Know About Domestic Violence
What You and Your Church Can Do
Find Out How Your Organization Can Help Support This Work