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Kathleen Mavis says she is the luckiest lady in Anchorage. As a receptionist at Alyeska Title, she is making fast friends and invaluable experience, a far cry from her life just one year ago when she left an abusive husband with little more than the clothes on her back.
"My new husband of less than a year, we moved up here from California. He started drinking and pushing me around and threatening me," said former AWAIC resident, Kathleen Mavis.
The threats escalated and Mavis knew she had to take action.
"I was sleeping with a knife under my pillow. There are so many different things: it's mental, it's physical. It takes a long time to get that out of your head. So yea, I was scared, but they make me feel very comfortable. They took me in like great family would take someone in, in crisis," said Mavis.
They, that family was Anchorage's AWAIC shelter, a safe haven for abused women in crisis.
"And I checked in and they were very kind. It was all about me, for a change. And it was about what I needed and how they could help me," said Mavis.
The shelter offered her more than help. Mavis says they gave her life and helped her land a job.
"I'm not scared anymore, because I'm standing up for myself. And I have a good job and I have a great place I'm living. I have great support groups, great friends, coworkers that care," said Mavis.
Mavis has coworkers that cared enough to donate nearly 500 dollars to help her buy a new wardrobe.
"She has just stepped up to the plate. It's not like, 'Oh, I'm so needy. I've been abused.' It's more like, 'I'm going to accept this help because I'm going to work hard for you and I'm going to make a difference and make a difference in other peoples' lives.' She is radiating that," said Esther Cupid of Alyeska Title.
Mavis says her new goal is to help others break their cycle.
"If you can help just one person in one community reach for the phone, that is one life that is saved," said Mavis.
Mavis has asked CBS 11 News to relay a simple challenge to the Anchorage community. She says if people donated something as simple as a 50-dollar bus pass, or a used business suit, you are, in essence, buying a woman a chance at independence, an opportunity
We here at CBS 11 News are holding a donation drive for the women of AWAIC. There are a number of items they need, from clothes and gift cards, to personal hygiene items, to baby needs. For a complete list or more information, you can click here.
To contact Laura, call 907-273-3186.
