Are You Being Threatened, Abused, or Hurt?
If you are being threatened, abused, or hurt, know that it is not ok. Get to safety immediately!
- Go to a police station, fire house, hospital, church, school, or someplace where there is a crowd!
- If you can, take with you anyone else who is likely to be harmed!
- Call 911!
- Do not return. Go to a shelter. To find one, Click here.
You will get counseling and services in the safety of people who care, even if you have no money or way to earn a living
National Domestic Violence Hotline
If you are experiencing abuse, call the national hotline at (800) 799-7233. They provide information on local resources to help victims find a path to safety, independence, and healing from abuse. Call and speak up for yourself or for someone who can’t. If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
Domestic Violence is a pattern of coercive tactics used by one person to establish and maintain power and control over the victim. The coercive tactics can include:
- Emotional abuse
- Psychological abuse
- Economic abuse
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
In other words, abuse is any behavior that seeks to deprive the victim of their independence and respect that the abuser demands for him/herself in the relationship.
The Warning Signs of Abuse
Ask yourself – does someone…
- Isolate you from family and friends?
- Put you down?
- Try to control what you do, spend, say or wear?
- Deny you access to money or financial assets?
- Blame you for everything wrong in the relationship?
- Accuse you over and over of being unfaithful?
- Force you into sex when—or in ways—you don’t like?
- Threaten you, the children, family, pets — or self?
- Shove, hit, kick, bite, slap, punch or hurt you?
If any of this is happening to you, reach out for help. Call the hotline at (800) 799-7233.
Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program (IPVAP)
A comprehensive person-centered, recovery-oriented assistance program for Veterans, their families and caregivers, and VHA employees who use or experience intimate partner violence.
Related Videos
Non-VA Local Help
Know A Vet? presents this information and these national resource directories, not as a recommendation of any specific service or provider, but as a starting point for your own research.
Please feel free to use the check sheets Before, During and After the Medical Appointment and Choosing a Medical Service Provider to help you in your search for the best help for your individual circumstances.
In addition, there may be other federal, state and local government or private resources for your individual needs.
VA, Government, and Organization Help
Know A Vet? presents this information and these national resource directories, not as a recommendation of any specific service or provider, but as a starting point for your own research.
Clicking here will bring you to a database of other VA services you can locate by zip code.
Please also check out our page on Filing Claims. We recommend that you do NOT file claims on your own. If you do not file exactly the way the VA looks for information, it can take literally years for your claim to go back and forth before approval or denial.
The other resources listed, such as your local Veterans Service Office (names vary by county), VSO counselor, VFW, etc., will help you determine what you are eligible for and file correctly for results in as little as a few weeks.
Learn More – Get More
Learn more about what it feels like to live your best life. Go to our Self Help page to explore other issues that can bring you “All The Way Home.”
Also, check out the Claims and Appeals topic to maximize compensation and benefits for yourself AND your loved ones.
It’s your turn to get your best life back! You EARNED it with your service!
