NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A domestic violence survivor is working to help families.
INSPIRE Family Empowerment is set to host a free Family Resource Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the YMCA on Granby Street.
Ashley Angulo created a nonprofit organization to help families thrive. She believes that “peace in our community begins with peace in our home.”
This weekend, she will bring experts together for an encouraging day to connect the community with parenting workshops, sessions and experts to help raise the next generation.
Angulo wants to help parents before it’s too late.
“Children placed in foster care system are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system, less likely to graduate high school or start college,” Angulo said.
The goal is to learn ways to make sure the cycle of trauma is not passed down to their kids.
“No parent is perfect,” Angulo said. “Some of the challenges that we face as parents is limited resources and support.”
Angulo is using lessons from her life’s struggles to help others.
“If I could keep someone else’s kids from going through what my kids went through, then it would be worth it,” she said.
As a young mom, she said her family went through a year’s-long custody battle. If parents are going through a similar process, she invites them to reach out to her.
“We want to take the shame away, we want to take the stigma away because everyone falls on hard times.”
Her kids witnessed violence in the house at the end of her marriage. After she left the relationship, the mom of 7, at the time, struggled to rebuild.
“I was on a waiting list for 9 months,” Angulo said. “There were no options for me, no one was able to assist me. I ended up cleaning houses during the day and serving tables at night basically working 24-hours a day just to keep my kids housed.”
Now she is a full-time student working on a social work degree. She was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Norfolk Police Foundation to help curb crime.
Register for the Family Resource Expo breakfast lunch or parenting classes.
To contact INSPIRE Family Empowerment call 757-901-2423.
If you or you know someone who may be a victim of domestic violence or child abuse, click here for a list of local and national resources.