‘Lucky to be alive’: Calgary woman shares story of escape from domestic violence

A Calgary woman is detailing the moments she finally escaped a life of domestic violence two decades ago and is sharing the story to help others trapped in similar situations.

Denise stayed in a shelter during Christmas after she says she was emotionally abused, controlled, and then feared for her life.

“Being in a shelter over Christmas wasn’t where I thought I’d end up,” she explained. “We left our home, we left our pets.

“We lived in an insane asylum at that point and we .. anything was better than where we were.”

Denise only shared her first name with CityNews to protect herself, showing the fear that can linger for domestic violence survivors.

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“It was emotional abuse, and then it became financial abuse and control and really significant psychological abuse and towards the end, it became physical abuse as well,” she explained.

Denise left her ex-husband, bringing her daughter with her to Discovery House in Calgary in November of 2000.

She stayed there until July 2001, which is when friends helped her get a lawyer, and back on her feet.

“When I left, I had the ability to go build a better life, but unfortunately not everybody does.”

From the outside looking in, life looked perfect for Denise, hiding the dark reality happening behind closed doors.

“Ex-husband was a successful professional, and we had a beautiful home and very affluent lifestyle and nobody knew, and on the outside it looked amazing materially, and inside our house, we lived in an insane asylum,” she said.

WATCH: CityNews’ Carly Robinson reports on Alberta’s high rate of gender-based violence and domestic abuse.

Denise now runs her own business and says her life is a happy one. But none of it was easy, and she says she still lives with the memories of an abusive home.

But with her story of living and escaping domestic violence, she hopes others can see it’s possible to get out.

“It can definitely be better and it’s not ever going to get better staying.”

The number of women in Alberta who are turned away from shelters is increasing.

In 2021, Discovery House served 617 people.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, you can call Calgary’s Distress Centre crisis support line at 403-266-4357.