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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cNeeds can be as simple as offering peer-to-peer support to the survivor,\u201d said Mullis. \u201cPerhaps 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\u2019t necessarily what we\u2019re going to do for the next. We meet the needs of the survivors. We don\u2019t dictate what those needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mullis said, \u201cWhat we\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though statistics from 2022 to 2023 show an 8.37% decline in domestic assaults, each assault is one too many.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI used to think, \u2018If I can help just one person, then my dream will be fulfilled,\u2019\u201d said Mullis. \u201cWell, we have helped one person. In fact, we\u2019ve helped multiple women. But my dream isn\u2019t fulfilled because so many more need us. Many don\u2019t know we\u2019re even available. If they do know, they\u2019re too scared to reach out for fear of judgment, or they fear having to fill out a 15-page application, or\u00a0that they\u2019ll have to jump through all kinds of hoops. But that\u2019s not the case with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel like as trauma survivors, we\u2019re taught we just get healed, and I don\u2019t 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\u2019re 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\u2019re [going to] come out with your life on the other side, and it\u2019s [going to] be even more beautiful than you\u2019ve ever dreamed. It just takes determination and to keep going.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":21427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/tullahoma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/02\/3-4-1024x683.png\")
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