ACCORDING TO data collected in 2022 by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and released in December 2023, there were 62,217 reported cases of domestic assault in the Volunteer State. This data also revealed that out of those reported incidents, 71.20% were female, outnumbering males who were assaulted 3 to 1.
Desiree Mullis, who moved to Middle Tennessee in 2017, used to be one of these women. Mullis’ trauma began at the tender age of 10 and continued for two decades. But even during this phase of total darkness, as her abusers told her she’d never amount to anything, a seed of a dream lay dormant. Deep within her little heart, she yearned to help others walk through their trauma and to tell them the words her inner child still longs to hear: “We see you. We hear you.”
Like the different phases of the moon usher in a physical change and signal new beginnings, so does emerging on the other side of trauma. Although Mullis makes a conscious effort every day to avoid holding resentment toward those in her past, she said healing wasn’t about reading a selfhelp book and being magically healed or talking to a therapist for a year. For her, healing has been an “every day, all day, second-by-second journey.”
In March 2022, Mullis launched the Full Moon Healing Project (FMHP) and was approved for 501(c)(3) status in May of that year. Mullis and her team of dedicated board members have now helped over 275 female survivors locate needed services within the community, and they’ve provided necessities for them like winter coats, gas cards, and, most importantly, a sympathetic ear. Each person who contacts the FMHP has different needs, so they diligently work to meet them on a case-by-case basis.
“Needs can be as simple as offering peer-to-peer support to the survivor,” said Mullis. “Perhaps they need somebody to lean on or talk to. During 2022 and 2023, we also sponsored four families, and we provided them with an entire Christmas, including the tree, decorations, a meal, and presents for the whole family. So what we do for one survivor isn’t necessarily what we’re going to do for the next. We meet the needs of the survivors. We don’t dictate what those needs are.”
As a newly formed nonprofit, the FMHP is actively working to solidify itself within Coffee County and hopes to provide positive experiences to help women.
Mullis said, “What we’re working on right now is building that solid foundation through solid community partnerships and active community engagement. One of my biggest dreams, or goals, when we started the FMHP was to have monthly community healing days provided free to our community. We will host another [on] Feb. 10. During our last one, we brought in a family photographer, makeup artist, hair stylist, and a massage therapist, and we look forward to hosting another.”
Even though statistics from 2022 to 2023 show an 8.37% decline in domestic assaults, each assault is one too many.
“I used to think, ‘If I can help just one person, then my dream will be fulfilled,’” said Mullis. “Well, we have helped one person. In fact, we’ve helped multiple women. But my dream isn’t fulfilled because so many more need us. Many don’t know we’re even available. If they do know, they’re too scared to reach out for fear of judgment, or they fear having to fill out a 15-page application, or that they’ll have to jump through all kinds of hoops. But that’s not the case with us.”
“I feel like as trauma survivors, we’re taught we just get healed, and I don’t believe that anybody is ever fully healed. I think healing is a constantly evolving process, and in order to heal, we have to keep going. We must keep fighting. We have to allow ourselves to open up to our tribe and lean on others because healing can be more difficult than the trauma itself. When you get out of a domestic violence situation, you’re not being abused anymore, but survivors come out holding on to guilt. They emerge with physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and financial pain. Recovering can be harder, more difficult, and uglier than staying with the abuser. But you’re [going to] come out with your life on the other side, and it’s [going to] be even more beautiful than you’ve ever dreamed. It just takes determination and to keep going.” GN
