Heritage heals didn’t start as an organization or a business. It started because I, like many young women, survived something I should have never had to survive. In 2023, I became a mother trying to escape domestic violence with nothing but my baby, a bag of clothes, and the dying hope that someone could help me figure out what came next. I quickly learned something brutal: There is no real support system for women and mothers leaving abuse. Not in our city, not in our state, not in the systems that claim to protect us. I realized that typical resources such as safe houses and agencies can help you escape but not always help you rebuild. Many women walk away completely alone, traumatized, broken, confused, and expected to “just figure it out.” This realization is why I started documenting everything. Every resource I had to dig for, every number I had to call. Every workaround I learned because the system kept failing me. Every mistake, every step, every small victory. As an activist I knew not only that if it was hard for me, it was hard for every other mother trying to start over, but also that this was a symptom of a bigger problem and I could do something to fix it. That’s when Heritage Heals was born! We started with nothing but a Facebook group, a community of 250 women supporting each other in the places the system refuses to. Since then, Heritage Heals has expanded beyond the Facebook group and grown into a full online platform and mentorship program. A space where our mission, resources, and community support can live in one place.