October 8, 2026

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

During the month of October - Domestic Violence Awareness Month - we are providing you with tools to begin recognizing various types of abuse in order to support victims with more knowledge. Oftentimes, the types of abuse people experience are NOT physical; they are more subtle yet equally destructive.

Last week we shared about Coercive Control. Read the newsletter and blog post and watch Lena's Story about Coercive Control on our Stories of Hope YouTube playlist.

This week we turn to another type of abuse: financial.

Weekly Abuse Topic:

Financial Abuse: The Hidden Grip of Control

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Before you learn more about Financial Abuse below, could you please take a minute to support our campaign to raise funds to keep our ministry running? Click the campaign image below to set up a donation. It takes 1 minute!

Financial Abuse, Continued.

Financial abuse, while less commonly understood, is one of the most powerful methods of keeping a survivor trapped in an abusive relationship and deeply diminishes her ability to stay safe after leaving an abusive partner.

Women experiencing financial abuse often face:

• Restricted access to bank accounts or credit cards
• Forced unemployment or pressure to quit their job
• Paychecks taken or controlled by the abuser
• Criticism or monitoring of every purchase
• No money for basic needs
• Threats tied to finances (“If you leave, you’ll have nothing”)

Financial abuse rarely occurs alone. It is deeply intertwined with emotional, spiritual, and psychological harm. At FOCUS Ministries, we are committed to breaking this cycle through education, support, and practical tools like personalized financial coaching (details below the video) that restore dignity and independence.

Angela's Story, shown in the video below, describes how financial abuse prevents women from leaving abusive relationships, or even forces them to return to the relationship out of financial desperation.

Watch more Stories of Hope on our YouTube channel:

Download this article written by Evelyn Colon to learn more about how financial abuse limits the autonomy of the victim and prevents them from leaving if necessary (especially when financial abuse is combined with other types of abuse, which is common).

How Do We Help?

FOCUS Ministries offers Financial Coaching for only $25 for 3 sessions!

Do you feel trapped by lack of access or knowledge about your family's finances? Are you in debt? Do you have money you can call your own that you can spend at your discretion? Do you have the login and passwords for all the online accounts, bank accounts, investment accounts and credit cards?

Financial Coaches work with clients to build money management skills. This can include getting out of debt, building savings and understanding how to manage and balance expenses by setting up a spending plan. A financial coach will work with clients in depth to figure out which expenses are working, which aren’t and why. They can also help with money mindset blocks in order to change spending habits.

We offer financial counseling to help you gain (or regain) independence. We will walk with you, however long the road ahead of you extends. Reach out today for support for yourself or someone you know. To receive more information about this service, contact our educated coach, Karen Ferguson at financialcoach@focusministries1.org. 

For other support visit our website or contact us:

www.focusministries1.org (quick-exit button available to avoid cyber-tracking)

contactus@focusministries1.org

630-617-0088

Side Note: To ensure you receive all of our training emails this month, check your spam filter to make sure that you have marked emails from paula@focusminstries1.org as "Primary" inbox emails and mark the email address as "not spam".

This October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we're asking you to join us in raising $60,000 to sustain our ongoing ministry to survivors. This isn't a one-time project—it's the lifeblood of the work we do every single day to walk alongside women (and men - it's not only women that experience domestic abuse) as they move from crisis to courage, and from fear to freedom.

Every dollar counts:

• $25 funds 3 Financial Coaching sessions for a client
• $75 funds 3 Financial Coaching sessions each for 3 clients!
• $100 funds scholarships for our Faith Based DV Training
• $200 funds scholarships for Partners in the Journey Support Group Leaders training.
• $300 funds counseling sessions with our chaplain.
• $400 funds a 2 hour Domestic Violence training for churches and organizations.
• $800 funds a half day Domestic Violence training for churches and organizations.

Click the campaign image below to be directed to our fundraising page. Join our October campaign and/or set up a monthly donation!

We also invite you to set up your own crowdsourcing fundraiser that supports our cause. Simply click on the "I want to help fundraise" link to very simply set up your own individual fundraising page which you can share with your social network! All proceeds go directly to us to support our ministry!

Click this link to go to our fundraising & donations page: https://www.focusministries1.org/join-us/donate#

Thank you for standing with FOCUS Ministries as we continue to shine Christ's light into places of deep hurt and walk with victims toward hope and freedom. Together, we can make sure that no one has to face this journey alone.

Give today. Be part of their healing.

Read more stories of survivors and messages of hope on our blog or visit our YouTube channel.