“I felt like a curse was over”

Teresa* knew that she and her children deserved better. But navigating her divorce alone through a complex legal system was becoming unsustainable.

Teresa was raised in a difficult home environment, so signs of emotional abuse in her marriage went undetected at first. For more than four years, she endured verbal abuse from her husband, who eventually abandoned her and their young son outright, while she also cared for her daughter from a previous relationship.

With no financial support, Teresa and her children spent two years living in a family shelter. Teresa began to realize the extent to which she had suffered in her marriage. Determined to rebuild her life, she tried to represent herself through the divorce but was immediately overwhelmed by the process. She felt alone, like “everyone turned their backs on her – I had my friends and they disappeared – it was such a crushing time for me.”

After a court official referred her to Her Justice, she was connected with a social worker and a pro bono legal team. Her attorneys handled every aspect of her uncontested divorce, securing full custody of her son and freeing her from the marriage. For Teresa, the divorce was more than a legal victory — it marked the end of years of abuse and uncertainty. “I can move on with my life,” she said. “I felt like a curse was over.”