Patricia came to the Safe Families Office as a last resort. Her husband’s jealousy and controlling behavior had reached a breaking point, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

She told our staff that he was obsessed with her and her phone – going so far as to repeatedly call her at work to verify that she was there, texting her from the next room to check up on her, and placing tracking devices on her car. 

She tried to shield their son, but her husband would often call her degrading names in front of him. The abuse escalated to physical violence.

Patricia’s husband even broke her computer because he didn’t want her to have access to social media, or ways to contact friends. She tried to shield their son, but her husband would often call her degrading names in front of him. The abuse escalated to physical violence.

Danny Patterson with Nelson Mullins didn’t hesitate to accept her case, and he passionately and expertly presented the details of her case to the judge. Patricia was awarded a 12 Month Protective Order against her husband, including child support and spousal support, possession of the home, and ordering her husband to undergo drug and alcohol abuse evaluation as well as attend Family Violence Intervention classes.

“Danny was amazing,” Patricia said. “[He] took his time to explain everything to me and always answered all my calls/emails.”

Her husband was delinquent on the mortgage, and they were at risk of being penalized.

While Danny was busy preparing her case, one of our social workers Camille Millar was busy working with Patricia to stabilize her living situation. She found out that her husband was delinquent on the mortgage and they were at risk of being penalized.

Through AVLF and our partnership with Housing Plus, Inc., we were able to pay past due mortgage and late fees in order to keep Patricia and her son in their home.

Camille also connected Patricia to pro bono financial planner services offered by the Georgia Chapter of the Financial Planning Association in order for her to determine how to stabilize their life without her husband. She applied for our Family Law Program for assistance with a divorce from her husband, and we are currently recruiting an attorney to represent her through that case.

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