Send us Fan Mail When we think about abuse, we picture bruises and broken doors. But there is a form of abuse that leaves no marks, traps 99% of survivors, and follows women long after they have left. Almost no one is talking about it, and it might be the biggest reason so many women feel like they can't get out. In this episode we sit down with Joleen Fuller and Heather Wiese. Joleen has called Portland home for more than 20 years. A Lewis & Clark College graduate, she has built her career around supporting survivors of domestic violence and trauma serving as an advocate, volunteer, and program coordinator to help individuals find safety, stability, and empowerment. Joleen currently serves as Director of Programs at FinAbility, where she champions survivors and fights for those too often pushed to the margins. Heather has been in the role of Family Services Advocate for the Shelter Stability Program at Raphael House since September 2020. She currently provides one-one-one advocacy, facilitates multiple support groups, and provides educational workshops for DV survivors and training workshops for fellow advocates. With over 22 years of experience working with families experiencing homelessness, Heather has worked in a wide range of roles including case management, program management, development, volunteer management, crisis intervention, and housing. Her primary passion in her work is economic empowerment and how to navigate complicated emotions surrounding personal finances while building skills and confidence towards financial health. Why do 99 percent of domestic violence survivors experience financial abuse? Because financial control is one of the most effective tools of power and control. It is not a side effect of abuse. It is a strategy. Keeping her broke, in debt, and financially dependent is exactly how an abuser makes sure she cannot leave. What are the three forms of financial abuse? Financial exploitation is identity theft, coerced debt, and accounts opened in her name without permission. Financial control is withholding her ID, monitoring every transaction, and keeping her on an impossible allowance. Financial sabotage is destroying her credit, her rental history, her job, and manipulating child support and legal systems after she leaves. Does the financial abuse stop when she leaves? Often it gets worse. Retaliation is immediate. Accounts get drained, money moves offshore, property gets destroyed. Child support evasion by switching jobs every few months is financial abuse that continues for years. Safety planning is not one and done. It is ongoing. Why are survivors more afraid to look at their credit report than they were to leave their abuser? Because the credit report is concrete evidence of everything that was done to them. It is an on-paper reminder every time they try to move forward. And for many survivors, the credit report is also a safety risk because soft pulls from housing or credit applications show their new location to anyone who knows how to look. What can a survivor do right now if she does not know where to start? One call. The National Domestic Violence Hotline. You do not need a plan. You just need to ask what resources exist near you. That call leads to the next one. The My Plan app is there for anyone who is not ready to pick up the phone. What do you need people who are not survivors to understand right now? The safety net survivors rely on is being cut. Support your local domestic violence shelter. Volunteer, donate, show up. And say it out loud: I believe survivors. In this moment those three words matter more than most people realize. Wherever you are on your journey, you are not alone, and there is help. Join us for next week’s Money Talks, “Financial Recovery After Abuse: The Step-by-Step Path to Stability”. Leaving is just the beginning. For many survivors, the financial damage lasts years after the relationship ends. This session is about what comes next. Click here to register for FREE and bring your questions! Follow & connect with Joleen & Heather: finability.org and raphaelhouse.comInstagram: @finabilityus and @raphaelhousepdx Want to take this conversation one step further? Join us for our next Money Talks, a free 30 minute live session where we’ll dig into a question we hear all the time from women business owners: Budgeting for Businesses to Offer Benefits. Click here to register for FREE and bring your questions! Follow & connect with us! Website Facebook PageFacebook groupInstagramTikTokLinkedInYouTubeReddit Resources Have questions? Click this to check out our expert Q&A for tips from industry experts, tailored to help women address their mos...
