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‘Do not wait for things to get better’ | Domestic violence survivor loses everything, fights her way back

Aileen Ortega is a domestic violence survivor and she said every day she continues to fight.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Editor's note: The main video in this story is from an October 2020 story on October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and ways to prevent it.

“For someone who is thinking about leaving a toxic relationship, gather all of your resources and look for all of the help you can get. It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done,” Aileen Ortega said.

Ortega is a domestic violence survivor and she said every day she continues to fight.

Her routine is waking up and trying not to think about her obstacles, but instead how she can progress in her personal and professional life. She has always been a mother first. When her two daughters started experiencing mental health issues, she quit her job to take care of them.

The mother of four is originally from Puerto Rico. She lived in South Florida for years but now she lives in Winston-Salem.

“The most difficult thing for me to do was leave everything in Florida,” Ortega said.

After finding the courage to divorce her husband, she lost everything, including custody of her children. She bounced from family and friends’ homes and sometimes slept in her car.

Ortega said her kids kept her going. She wanted to find a steady job and provide for her children and she did just that.

Since March she has been in North Carolina working at a First Horizon bank. She also has her own photography business that she wants to expand here in the Triad.

Ortega hopes her story will shine a light on someone else debating on leaving a violent situation.

“Do not wait for things to get better," she said. "Don’t be afraid because a lot of women are afraid of the situation, of not having enough money, or having children, which makes the situation a lot more difficult.”

Ortega is an everyday hero rising above any setbacks that may come her way.

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