Jenna

Mainstay helped me to be safe and start again on my own.


When Jenna came to Mainstay for help she was barely in her early 20's and trying to escape an abusive relationship she'd been in for the past ten months.

Jenna recounted that shortly after her boyfriend moved in she learned he was abusing methamphetamines. Jenna had repeatedly asked him to leave but her boyfriend wouldn't take no for an answer and continued to stay in her home, often striking her with closed fists and pinning her to the floor when he got mad.

When Jenna wasn't at home her boyfriend would follow her around town, and constantly make threatening phone calls to her throughout the day. Jenna had a hard time holding a job because her boyfriend harassed her at work so frequently.

One of the things Jenna was most fearful of was something happening to her boxer-mix dog that she'd had for several years. Her boyfriend knew how much Jenna loved the dog and threatened to kill it if she tried to leave him.

Mainstay's court advocate helped Jenna get a restraining order against her boyfriend which ordered him out of her home, and to have no contact with Jenna, her dog, or any place she is employed at.

Today Jenna lives with her dog in a new apartment and has held a good job for almost a year. She tells Mainstay that her restraining order makes her feel safe and protected by the law and she hasn't heard from her now ex-boyfriend since.