An empowering program on the path to freedom!

Lauren Sailsbury is thriving and celebrating her freedom after fleeing from a domestic violence relationship ten years ago. Leaving with her two young children, Lauren settled in the Gladstone region and rebuilt her life. Lauren wants to encourage others who may be victims of domestic or family violence to have courage, and know that help and support are available. “I left with nothing but a bag of clothes,” Lauren explains. “We had to leave everything behind, family, friends, pets, everything.”  

Lauren initially went to Blackwater but was soon placed in a domestic violence shelter in Gladstone. She said that it took a couple of years to really settle in, but the family have now made Gladstone their home. “There were a few places that helped us out to get to where we are now,” she said. “It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I want people who are suffering to know that it is possible to start again. I want people to know that even though it is hard, it is doable.”