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The Story of Karen Justice Guard by Randy Peyser When Kirk Meyer heard his sister-in-law, Karen Justice-Guard screaming, he quickly rushed downstairs to help. Karen’s boyfriend was attempting to stab her. Kirk lunged for the knife, and Karen broke free. In terror, she ran out the door and immediately fell over a 30 foot cliff in the dark. Karen came to rest at the bottom of a creek, her leg broken, her body bruised, her face battered. When Kirk screamed that he’d called the police, the boyfriend fled. Like most victims of domestic violence, this wasn’t an isolated incident for Karen. She had been through some version of this horror so many times, it was hard for her to remember when it actually started. Karen dropped out of school in the tenth grade. By the time she was nineteen, she had been introduced to alcohol and drugs and with no positive sense of esteem, lived from one abusive relationship to the next. “It’s a familiar story,” says Karen. I was living on a fast train to self-destruction, with no feeling of self-worth, abusive men, drugs, alcohol, and anything else that might take away the pain and fear of who and what I really was. My life fed on rebellion, ignorance, lack of self-will, no direction, fear and addiction.” Karen met Jerome, a wealthy man who could see the potential in her that she didn’t yet believe existed. Jerome brought her all over the world, introduced her to his world of high-powered business, bought her a Jaguar, and even helped her family members to start their own businesses. Because of Jerome, Karen entered her first recovery program. Even though on the surface things appeared to be going well, Karen felt that Jerome was trying to buy her love. She had not yet developed a sense of self-esteem, and no amount of money could “fix” her. She also felt pressured by her family to stay with him even though she wanted to leave. Her resentment toward Jerome grew. She had lots of money, but with no tools to help herself, she still hated herself on the inside. Soon she was taking the Jaguar out to go pick up junkies and get high. Eventually Karen did leave her life of newfound prosperity. She entered a hospital treatment program, met Rick through AA, and shortly thereafter, got married. The couple had two children and lived the “American Dream” for seven years. Around the time they started a restaurant, their marriage fell apart, and the loans on the restaurant fell through. This time, Karen walked away from $800,000 worth of property, prestige and debt. She took the children, went to Tahoe and lived on welfare as a single parent. She even began attending college with a little extra money provided by the government for welfare moms to increase their education. Her self-esteem began to grow. Through AA, Karen learned to put her trust in a Higher Power and to let go of her dependence on drugs, alcohol and abusive men. But she still felt tremendous shame. In AA, she was being taught to make every aspect of her life honest. Living on welfare made her feel like at least some aspect of her life was still a lie. Karen re-established a relationship with her father, himself a former alcoholic. Coming from a family of successful entrepreneurs, Karen and her father opened a restaurant together in Danville. As father and daughter simultaneously went through recovery, Karen received what she believes to be one of the biggest gifts of her life. “My dad died ten months later, but in those ten months I spent with him, he got to see the woman I became and I got to see the dad he was.” Having just lost the dad she felt she’d never had before and still desperately wanting love, Karen quickly jumped into a relationship. She was sure Jody was different then the men she had been with in the past. But within a short time, she stopped going to AA and lost herself once more. “My life belonged to Jody because I had no “me”. I had no self-esteem,” says Karen. “I would do anything for him. I had such a desperate desire to be loved. I ran his company under his name and had no personal income to show for it. I tried to please him. Jody beat me. And I was financially stuck.” Karen’s young son and daughter suffered as well, constantly bearing witness to the brutality directed toward their mother. Unable to cope with the situation herself, Karen was able to offer them little emotional support, and their pain remained unseen. One day, Karen’s son asked her, “Mommy, how can you stay with someone who beats you?” She saw the look of terror in his eyes. “I had to stop and say to myself, “What am I teaching my son? And what am I teaching my daughter?” She knew she had to do something. Karen’s dad had left her an inheritance. His dying words to her were, “Help the little people.” He was referring to her children as well as to the children of other battered women. Karen didn’t think she had the courage, the education, or the ability to help others, but when she was humiliated in court and made to feel like the beatings were her fault, she knew she had to do something — regardless of her fears or lack of know how — so that other women would not have to endure the humiliation which she had just experienced. Now Karen is no longer a victim with a low sense of self-worth. Instead, she has become an action-oriented champion for other women and children who suffer from abuse. Karen is creating an innovative program, possibly the only one of its kind in this country, to emotionally and financially empower women who desire to escape from similar life-threatening situations. She calls her program, “A Safe Haven For Little People.” Unlike other shelters which offer short term occupancy, A Safe Haven will provide not only safe housing, but also a year long program of emotional and spiritual healing for abused women and their children to regain their self-esteem. Parenting skills, day care, legal aid, counseling, a network for job placement and job skills development will also be provided, along with encouragement for the women toward future educational opportunities. Karen also addresses the devastation of financial despair which battered women encounter. Karen has created a number of income streams to enable the women who come to A Safe Haven to gain new work skills and earn personal income. A corporation founded by Karen will help fund the shelter as well as help the women gain economic independence through the sale of numerous products and services. Products currently offered to support A Safe Haven include a line of A Safe Haven merchandise, including t-shirts, hats, aprons, and mugs; Pre-paid Legal Services, an affordable, monthly legal consulting service; and promotional products for businesses such as wholesale magnets, shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, buttons, etc. Karen has attracted interest from The Sam’s Clubs, the owners of the WalMart chain, for two more products as well; a line of A Safe Haven gourmet salsa and specialty sauces, and A Safe Haven all natural, crystal clear spring water. The Sam’s Clubs are considering distribution of both of these products throughout their stores in California, Alaska, Washington and Hawaii. Karen also hopes to raise money to purchase video cameras for every police car responding to a domestic violence call. Oftentimes, by the time an abuser has been brought to trial, the victim may have recovered enough for a judge or jury to not believe the severity of their situation. Seeing the bruises and swelling first-hand is one way for women to be believed and be better supported by the legal system. Says Karen, “Today, I am living a life I never thought was possible. I am a person I never thought I could be. Every day has its new challenges and problems to be worked out. But now I am “healthy.” I can finally love, trust and enjoy my life. And I want to help others.” Karen can be reached at (800) 628-8787. Web Site Design by Visions
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