Do you know me?

My name is Jacinta. I know you’d never know this by looking at me now, but I was the wife of a diplomat. We came here thinking everything would be wonderful, but soon after coming here, my husband turned into a monster, beating me and sometimes even beating my six year old son. My husband wouldn’t let me have any of my own friends, and I felt like a captive. One day he beat my son so badly that he knocked out several of his teeth, and then he wouldn’t let me take the boy to a dentist, for fear that he would be discovered as an abusive husband and father. I tried speaking to the American embassy but they told me that my husband had diplomatic immunity and so they couldn’t do anything. When my son came down dreadfully sick, I realized his mouth had become infected, so I escaped from the embassy and went to the hospital. The doctors alerted the police, and I was confronted with the abuse to my son. I told the police what had happened and they took me and my son to a program for homeless families.

Can you see us? We are some of the many faces of Fairfax County’s homeless community. Please help the homeless be seen. This link will bring you to a page to find out what you can do to help the homeless in Fairfax County.