181 {Diana Connell part 2} The struggles of starting again after domestic violence

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Trigger warning: Domestic violence

Many of us have heard how hard it can be to live in a domestic violence relationship, but not all of us realise just how hard it can be to leave.

And by ‘leave” we mean how to financially and emotionally stay alive with no support or home while a violent partner tracks you down.

This is part 2 of our chat with the incredible Diana Connell, who escaped a long term domestic violence relationship with her two children.

Diana has dedicated her life to pushing for systemic reform in housing, domestic violence, and women’s economic security. Through her work with Global Sisters, she is involved in the Little Green Houses project, making home ownership a reality for women who have experienced domestic violence. Through McAuley Community Services for Women, she has been deeply involved in the co-design of the ground breaking Safe at Home trial in Geelong.

In this episode she shares:

• Why St Vincent’s and McDonalds were how they survived in the early days after leaving
• How she got out of the dire situation they were in
• The difficult moment where she had to make her kids get work for them to survive
• How they ended up in a safehouse in Melbourne
• Her fear that he would find them and what happened when he did
• The disappointing charge her ex faced even though her son had filmed the attack
• The way her ex tried to intimidate them after he tracked them down  
• Her life now and how she got out and things got better
• The sad truth about recovering from this kind of abuse
• How a lawyer helped her out from the debt her ex had left her with
• What she does now to help others in similar situations

Key Quotes

“ We were homeless for a good 6 months...We’d say, well this place isn’t used, so we’d live there. I guess we were squatters.”

“He tracked us down there…he made sure we knew he was there, he took our spare key. It’s all that thing about scaring the living shit out of us.”

More About Diana

Follow Diana on her art instagram

Find out more about how Global Sisters can women here.

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If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au

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