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Kristine Brewer

#CUTTHECRAP My Story of Survival

Updated: Apr 12, 2021

The purpose of this page is to challenge the mind and heart. When it comes to being strong, we women are built for it. We need to start refusing to make the unexcitable acceptable. Shout it, you are not alone. By sharing your story, you could be someone else's inspiration.


After being in a very aggressive relationship for about a year on and off I could not imagine myself in any other life. He had me mentally chained. Physically bruised and battered, I continued to make excuses to why it was okay or how it was somehow my fault. I had completely isolated myself. I never understood what people meant when they described that. Well, it really sucks. My family, my best friends, my work, my music, everything took a back seat. I no longer cared about the things that made me the happiest. I have struggled with depression the better half of my life so simply, "Aint nobody got time for this". I was just coming out of a nasty divorce so why go from bad to worse. And by worse, I mean worse than I ever could have possibly anticipated. I ended up hospitalized twice. I have two small babies to take care of. He could have killed me. Because of this, I tried to kill myself. I lost my job. I cannot believe I was able to gather my strength and finally say enough was enough. Why is his life worth more than mine? If I had any idea of what I was in store for would I have changed my course of action? I mean, of course, who wants to get beat up MMA style THREE times in six months…..NOBODY!!!!! But I did learn a lot from my experience and I would love to help inspire women and men around the country to share their success stories, their fears, their hopes and come together in raising awareness. Together we can help support #SafeLove#Self-Love#Self-Respect and overall Human Rights. So #CutTheCrap!!!


Thanks to social media, we the people, have such a huge outlet for support. The Month of May will start Kco Designs #CutTheCrap campaign. We will donate 5$ from every hair cut to the House of Ruth foundation. We may not know, but 1 in 4 women are affected by domestic violence and abuse. It is something that is not always talked about, but something that needs to be recognized. Let's see how much we can raise to help those in need to feel loved and safe!! • On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.1 • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.2 o 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g. slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence." 1 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.1 • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime.1 • 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.1 • On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.9 • The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%. • Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.2 • Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.2 • 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon.2 • Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.2 • Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.

IF YOU NEED HELP TODAY! DO NOT BE AFRAID TO REACH OUT

One phone call can save your life. 911 is always an option- here are some local resources-

*House of Ruth Maryland

2201 Argonne Dr, Baltimore, MD 21218 (410) 889-0840


*Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Program at GBMC

GBMC EMERGENCY


*Turnaround

1800 N Charles St STE 404, Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 837-7000

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