Upon arriving in her new state, Betty and her little ones had nothing but the clothes they were wearing. At that time and in that new place, she was unable to get any sort of assistance from the county or state. As I recall, she was told that since she had no proof of residency, there was nothing that could be done to help her.
In 2012, some things regarding community response to the scourge of domestic violence have improved. In many areas, shelters now exist to provide a safe, supportive home for victims of domestic violence. These safe havens are not listed in telephone books nor are their addresses available on websites. However, in today's world, when a victim and her/his children are seeking shelter from their abuser, many agencies, police departments, places of worship and others can now direct terrified and displaced people to these safe houses.
Unfortunately for Betty and her little ones, either these places of safety did not exist, or she was unable to access information that could provide assistance and relief. It was also obvious to her that she could not contact anyone from her past for help. Consequently, Betty did what little she could do to take care of the business of merely surviving.
Her new baby had been born prematurely and had severe disabilities. Like many other homeless people, Betty scrounged through dumpsters and trash bins to find enough to merely sustain life. The three of them lived in the old rattle-trap car. It became their home. Each night she would park someplace different, dark and remote, so she and her family would not be discovered. She tried her very best to remain under the radar and not draw attention to herself and her predicament.
I can't tell you why Betty did not seek some sort of refuge at a church or other house of worship. Perhaps she had lost all trust, paranoid that someone might contact her husband. And of course, during that time the stigma associated with domestic violence was still rampant. All too often victims were thought to either love the abuse, encourage it through their behavior, or questioned as to why, if it were as bad as
"they" said, did it take them so long to leave. In other words, victims were all too often re-victimized by those who were clueless about this crime.
The weather was growing cooler. Betty needed to figure out a way to earn some money so she and the children could find a place, any place, to live. While driving around the rather remote areas she frequented, she found a mid-sized factory. She was a hard worker and knew that she could do this type of work.
She parked the car in a far corner of the lot, leaving the older child in charge of the baby. Upon applying for a job, she was instantly hired and began work immediately.
Now she just needed to hang on until her first pay check came through. Every day she would arrive at the factory, park in the most remote place possible and lock the children in the car. Every day the older of the two, who was fairly advanced for such a young child, would feed and care for the baby. At every break or during each lunch, Betty would rush to the car to check on the children and care for them as best she could.
The weather was becoming colder and colder. Winter was settling in. One day the baby began coughing. Betty tried to nurse her infant back to health. But the child's condition worsened. The coughing and rasping increased, fever soared and the baby developed great breathing difficulties.
Betty drove her children to the nearest emergency room, pleading for help. She knew that she would face an onslaught of questions about how this could have happened . . . why she had not sought help earlier. Those questions were the last things on her mind. Even though some might have wondered how she could have let this happen, Betty loved her children beyond measure.
Betty left the older child in the care of hospital staff while she stayed by her infant's bedside. But medical intervention was simply too late to save the infant. Having been born prematurely and suffering from severe disabilities, the small child's body could not recover.
Moments after the baby's death, she left the room to gather up her toddler. Social services had been alerted and informed of the situation. They were waiting for her.
And on that horrible, heartbreaking day, Betty lost both of her children.
Copyright, 2012, Jane Okasaki, all rights reserved
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