7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford is taking a deep dive into domestic violence.
You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799 7233, text "START" to 88788 or chat on their website
Full coverage: Breaking Free - a deep dive into domestic violence
It comes after doing weekly check-ins with local police chiefs, where we were told that domestic violence is still the No. 1 crime in just about every community. During the month of December with the holiday season and new year approaching, domestic violence calls go through the roof.
Related: Resources for domestic violence victims
On average, 24 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in America. That's more than 12 million men and women in a single year.
In Michigan, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 36% of women experience abuse within a romantic relationship. Safe shelter is crucial, but for some, the path to safety comes too late.
As part of our Breaking Free series, we wanted to explore the way forward for women suffering at the hands of an abuser. For many, that means reaching out to agencies that have the resources and tools to help.
We are lifting the voices of those who make opening the door to freedom doable and sustainable.
For Faith Brown, it's been a long eight years of healing. She endured one of the most gut-wrenching cases of domestic violence many have ever heard.
Her husband murdered their four children and made her watch in horror, killing the youngest two by carbon monoxide poisoning.
"He zip-tied my son, then my daughter, and told us to go in the basement," Brown said.
Faith says she thought he was going to take the kids and leave instead.
"He shot my daughter in the back. Like you know here and here. Those are immediate death shots that you never recover from, and then he shot my son," she said.
She remembers her daughter looking to her in desperation for help.
"That’s when he proceeded to cut me and shoot me," Brown said.
He sliced her face open on both sides. The scars are still visible. She called 911
Faith who faced her ex in court, wrote the book "The Monster Who Killed His Family Twice," because her ex murdered his first wife while she was pregnant. He is now serving life in prison.
"When you look at your ex-husband and everything he did, do you think he was mentally ill?" I asked.
"I definitely think that there was some type of mental illness there, just simply because of the mood swings," she said.
Faith says he was sinister and psychologically demeaning with their kids – removing door knobs or slamming the door in her baby girl’s face.
"When you said, I want to divorce you, did you think this man might kill me?" I asked.
"I did. Cut to, that’s when he stopped talking to me," she said.
"What would your message be to other women?" I asked.
"My message would be to leave, but have a plan," she said. "If I could do it all over again, I would have had my children and myself moved first and then had him served. It’s better, it’s safer."
Faith knows that now after years of counseling through First Step, a domestic violence non-profit. Before that, she was downing alcohol and medication to numb the pain.
"I did for a long time have guilt because I could not save them," she said.
Faith had to work through much of that agony with her First Step counselor who allowed her grace, without shame.
"I was progressing, and I might have relapsed and started drinking again, I wouldn’t feel bad if I told my counselor here at First Step," she said.
First Step is now opening its second location in the Samaritan Center in Detroit. They will break ground in 2025 with plans to open a year later with 21 desperately needed beds.
Lori Kitchen-Buschel is the executive director.
"A lot of people don’t understand when women are trying to escape domestic violence, there are not a lot of beds, so this is really, really needed here," Kitchen-Buschel said.
Third to 50% of service calls to First Step come from the City of Detroit. Faith learned about First Step in the hospital.
This new shelter includes a kitchen, playroom, beautiful rooms and even a view of Head Start will be a welcome site to those who have suffered so much.
Faith is also working on her own non-profit.
As for Faith who is working on her own non-profit.
"It's right before Christmas and for the first time in eight years after losing your children, you have a glimmer of hope because you might buy a Christmas tree?" I asked.
"Something came over me. I was like, I think I might, I might buy a little tree," she said.
"Do you feel it’s necessary to tell people that it is a journey that sometimes it can take years, decades or a lifetime?" I asked.
"Healing doesn’t look pretty, healing is ugly. No one can tell you how to heal," she said.
Faith keeps pictures and artwork sitting out around the house. She says it feels like they are still with her, and while she can’t say their name aloud in speeches for fear of breaking down, she intends to keep their memory alive so others will have the courage to break free.
