Note in advance: you can learn more about Tashia and her work at her website, luvisagift.com, and you can donate to her GoFundMe here (even $5 helps!).
One of the things I’ve liked best about interviewing so many nonprofit organizers and leaders has been seeing the great amount of love so many people bring to their work. When your job is to serve others, I think you develop a sense of care, and a greater sense of love, for the people you’re working to help. This isn’t storybook love; this is the real stuff, the stuff that keeps you going on a rainy Monday full of meetings.
And today’s guest is going to talk a lot about love, both directly and indirectly. Tashia Scott, a two-time domestic abuse survivor, is now building an app, and a community, for other women and men in similar situations. Before I met Tashia, there was a lot I didn’t know about the difficulty involved with prosecuting domestic violence. But because there’s a lot of paperwork involved, a lot of documentation needed, and a lot of incentive for victims to remain quiet (including not wanting to endanger themselves, or their loved ones), many abusers go free.
And it’s one of those situations where you’re like – how is there not an app for that?
I mean, seriously. We have apps for, you know, picking out our clothes in the morning and counting calories in our lunch. How are there so many true areas of need that lack technological aid? And that’s why Tashia’s story is so awesome. Out of her love for domestic abuse survivors, and from the love others extended to Tashia, she’s been able to work with a team to build the app domestic violence victims need to break their cycle.
This love is not the Disney kind, but it is the ‘happily ever after’ kind, in its own way.
Warning: there is content concerning domestic violence in this episode that could be triggering for some people.
Welcome to The Zip.
Megan Hannay:
Tashia, thank you for joining me on the ZipSprout podcast. Usually, these interviews are digital, so I’m not actually sitting next to the person. It’s kind of cool to be face-to-face. I first heard your story when you spoke at the Beyu Café a couple months ago. You told your story onstage, a bit of your background and what inspired you to not only make changes in your life, but to raise funds and build technology to help others. The app you’re building is meant for women, or I guess men, too. People who are currently experiencing domestic violence in a relationship. Can you talk a little bit about the app and what it does?
Tashia Scott:
Yes. The app is a three-way documentation and reporting device. What it does is, I like to say is also an empowerment mechanism for anyone that’s in a volatile situation. It was birthed through domestic violence, because that’s my personal story. However, it can be used for anything. I came to this place of creating this app because the judicial failed myself and my children. When we went to court, it was a thing of basically, he says/she says, which is odd because I had the evidence. I had the busted lip, the black eye, hair ripped from head, scratches on my neck, blood on my t-shirt, and he choked me so vigorously I was hoarse. I actually had a video. I’m documenting through video, but I walked in court not afraid.
I think when people think of a victim, they think of this withered, weak person, almost can’t help themselves. I walked in like, no. I want justice. We had just won four days prior in domestic violence court, but then he won in the criminal division. The DA didn’t have any records on me at all that day in court. I tell this story because I see it just like it happened yesterday. There was a folder in front of her the whole time, and I said, could you open that for me? Because I didn’t see you open up anything throughout the whole entire process. She didn’t open anything. She didn’t look at down at notes. Nothing. She said, “that’s not important. Don’t worry about it.”
To add insult to injury, when the judge went in for deliberation, she leaned over and said to me, “I need to tell you something. This judge generally sides with the abuser.” I can’t even tell you the amount of rage—when I tell this part of my story, I just tear up every time because you were supposed to protect me, protect my children. If I took his life, the story would have been told differently, but I’m standing here and that’s when I knew I had to spring into action. I needed to create something that was going to empower survivors. Most of us stay in our situations because we don’t know where to turn. When we do turn, they don’t know how to help us.
Megan Hannay:
Yeah. The folder—you said the district attorney, her folder basically, there was nothing about you in it.
Tashia Scott:
Nothing.
Megan Hannay:
She just hadn’t done her homework.
Tashia Scott:
She didn’t do her homework. She didn’t do jack. Nothing at all. To me, what she did was, I felt disrespected. My children felt disrespected. I ended up in full displacement behind it, still in displacement today. For myself, I don’t agree with how, especially this state, views domestic violence, how it handles domestic violence, how victims are handled through domestic violence. That’s why my not-for-profit, Empath 360 coupled with this app, we’re going to make sure that survivors around the globe is heard, is taken care of, is moving through the judicial system the way we were supposed to move through the system and have the things that they need.
Megan Hannay:
Yeah. That’s awesome. Can you talk a little bit about the app, too? Specifically, what it does.
Tashia Scott:
Yes. The app has three components to it, which it can record vocally audio, or you can type in your message. You also have the capability to upload. What happens in a court system, they give you a chapter 50B, which is a protective order. Mine was 12 pages deep. You have to. They tell you, you have to make copies. Everywhere you go, you’re supposed to leave a copy. If I go to dinner with my family, I have to walk in, give this paper to the manager. Hi, if you see my abuser, this is a restraining order. He’s not allowed two feet from me. Could you let all your servers know? If I’m going to the gym, I have to do the same thing. Again, you’re victimizing the victim. I’m assaulted. Now, I’m offended that I have to walk around with these pages.
What the app does is, it condenses all of that paperwork, and it puts it at one click of a button. Now, when you walk in, you don’t have to feel torn. You don’t have to feel embarrassed. You don’t have to hand a paper. You can just say to the manager, I have a protective order. I would love to send this to your cell phone so that you can have it while I’m having dinner with my children, or you might have a new boo. Here. You can look this up, and if you see this person, you don’t even have to alert me. You can kindly escort off the premises. Also, mentioning that, you have the option of uploading your oppressor’s photo. Now, you’re also taking care of the people at your job.
There was a case in Henderson, North Carolina, I think it was roughly about 90 days ago. The young lady was working at Food Lion. Her abuser walked into Food Lion and shot her on frontline. She had a restraining order. Did she give it to her employers? I don’t know, but if she had something like this app, she could have easily walked in, given it to loss prevention, let the frontline understand, this is what’s going on. People can begin to look for this person, because we know that police officers, they lose their lives just as much as victims in domestic violence. People on work sites, if a husband or a wife comes in and they’re not thinking rationally, they walk in, it’s not just the victim that they’re shooting. Nine times out of 10, they take off the office. We see it all the time on the media. It’s time that we take technology and we incorporate it. What we know and how we look at domestic violence, how the domestic violence is tried, how it’s viewed, and going forward. Technology has a place in this war.
Megan Hannay:
Yeah. How did you go from ending that court case and having that situation to building the app? Was it just like, how is there not something better than this 12-page paper document in 2018, 2017? How did that happen?
Tashia Scott:
For me, it was more so, when I ended up in displacement I kept saying, something doesn’t feel right. I wanted to do more. I understand the journey was just not about me. Domestic violence is a $8.5 dollar, annual billion-dollar bill. They call it the silent bill. When I saw that, they labeled it the silent bill, I was offended again because when I was getting my ass kicked, I wasn’t silent. There was no laughter. I wasn’t silent. It was real for me. I looked at the statistics and I said, if we had a right now device, click of a button, easy access other than dialing 911, because we know that the abusers can rip a phone cord. Who are you talking to? What’s going on? If we had a click of a button and automatically start recording, how powerful would that be? T
he app also allows you to add an advocate. I can put your name in my app. You become the advocate. If you can’t get me on the phone because he wants to go for a walk and I never come back with him, you can now take the authorities into my app and you can say, she put a message in here at 9:15 a.m. saying that he wanted to go for a walk. Now, they have a lead. That whole tracking device system is geotagged. It cannot be erased. Time stamped. No one can remove any data off of that app except for the authorities. I knew that was important. I began to structure every single detail. I studied my case, not as the victim, as the hero of my story. I began to study other cases on where the judicial system failed them. I took all their cons and I made a pro. Simple. That came into a meeting that, I think the AU was at Beyu Café. I think it was Taryn, Juan, Phillipe. I think Doug was there, too, that night.
They were sitting around talking about technology with Latinos and black women. I’m like, wait a minute. I’m not a tech person, but I do have an idea, and I believe my idea is going to be beneficial. I approached Juan, who ended up being one of my mentors. He was like, yeah. You have placement here. Why not? You need to do this. Completely oblivious to this whole entire tech world. Completely like, oh, my God. Do I belong here? What is this about? I easily nestled in, became comfortable, and I started spearheading everything about this app, definitely. I was intimidated a little bit, but then as I started rolling with it, I’m like, wait a minute. I do have placement here. I do.
I think that when you’ve been stripped for so long, and that’s what my abuser—my abuser stripped me. I kid you not. I almost didn’t know who I was some days. When you’re stripped from that, it’s like, who am I? Who are you to create this app? Who are you to come out here and say, you want to go rally for others who feel that they don’t have a voice, who feel like they can’t raise their hand back? Who are you? Why are you so deserving? I fought through that whole thing in my mind the entire time this app was coming into birth, definitely. That’s why I said, I’m going to keep pushing, regardless. I don’t care if I’m sleeping in the car, if I’m sleeping on a friend’s air mattress, a couch, or whatever. This app was going to come to life.
Megan Hannay:
That’s amazing. It’s really interesting, because thinking about the tech world and do you have a place in the tech world? Everyone should have a place because everyone, especially because you’re someone who—I feel so often people create apps that are for other people. They’re trying to sell something or they’re coming up with a product or a service that’s like, some people will use this, but it came out of a need in your own life. I think usually those are some of the best. Usually the best pieces of technology and the best things, because you really know what’s needed and what parts of the app, what will work and what will not work.
Tashia Scott:
Definitely.
Megan Hannay:
That’s awesome. What stage is it at right now?
Tashia Scott:
We are about to hit deployment. We are about to hit deployment. I’m working with Daisy from Code the Dream, another American Underground startup. I’m so excited. I can’t even tell you. When I got the email from her, I was like, why a deployment? Wait a minute. Is it done? She said, we think it’s perfect. There’s that thing that happens. I used to deal with self-sabotaging. Again, am I worthy? Who am I, again? My first abuser said, the only way you’ll be able to beat me, you will have to win the lottery. I kept that in the back of my head. I’m like, maybe he’s right. Then, when that email came in, I was like, I just won the lottery. I just won the lottery.
Yeah, you’re right. You’re right. It wasn’t that I’m going to prove anything to him. I think a lot of abusers go through that, they have this guru complex. They want to beat you down emotionally, verbally, physically. Once they rip that self-confidence from you and you’re climbing out, trying to reidentify, who am I? Am I worthy? Am I even beautiful? When that letter came through, that just rerouted and shifted everything about who I am today, because I am worthy. I am a CEO and founder of this app. This app came through my strife. I’m here, and it’s coming. It’s coming soon.
Megan Hannay:
That’s awesome. Are you going to do an event around launch?
Tashia Scott:
Oh, yeah. We are going to have a huge app launch, and I want to bring survivors from all over to come and speak. We’re going to make it sexy and classy, and we’re going to raise money because we know it takes money to continue to push this thing forward. I don’t want any survivor to have to pay for this app, by no means. They will need sponsorships or going into domestic violence shelters, clinics, hospitals, schools, churches. Those people, their support system, will need to pay for this app for them.
Megan Hannay:
How are you going to work to get the word out among women or men, people who are currently involved in domestic violence situations who don’t really know what to do? That feels that, sometimes those people can be hard to reach because they’re so isolated.
Tashia Scott:
One of the ways that—we have to be very strategic with it, because the app is actually hidden in a newsfeed. We don’t want to come out and publicize it, because that’s going to put the abuser on alert. Are you really looking at such and such? Nate from Code the Dream, his team is working on powerful visuals for this app. Say that you’re working in a domestic violence shelter and Suzie comes in. She’s not ready to leave yet. We’re going to empower Suzie. We’re going to help her get ready to tell her story in the courtroom. You’re not ready to leave today? We understand. I have this app I would love to upload on your phone when you’re ready. In the privacy of your time, I want you to go in here and begin to document every single detail. That is so important, because I missed a few things in my testimony, and that’s how that abuser was able to walk away scot-free, to go and do it again to someone else.
Megan Hannay:
It’s so surprising in some ways that with all of that evidence, that there are still check boxes.
Tashia Scott:
And that’s exactly what—they give you a paper like what you have. It’s pink. I think it’s about 12 questions with one line. If you need more space, turn over. Turn it over. One pink paper, 12 questions, line per line, and I have a 12-page restraining order? I don’t understand. I further think that if the United States of America knew how to tax this violence, we would have been had an antidote. We would have been had this problem solved, because now we’re making money. If we can take men and women who are in arrears for child support, we can take their cars. We can take their homes. If you get caught DWI or DUI, they’ll confiscate your car, but for a victim, we’re made to leave our residence with our children, and you have an hour. You have an hour to grab what you want out the house, and now we’re going to take you and put you in a shelter. I don’t get it. We’re hustling backwards. The message is wrong, and that’s why these men keep getting off the hook. Men and women. They keep getting off the hook.
Megan Hannay:
Yeah, because it’s a lot harder to—the decision to leave someone is hard, but then also, to know your whole life is going to change. You won’t get to live in your house. You won’t get to have your normal life anymore, and that’s really scary.
Tashia Scott:
Yeah. It’s completely scary. The court system, it needs to be rerouted, re-centered. Like your GPS says, recalculating. It has so much work to do in regard to DV until it’s not funny. My abuser still bullied me, even after he was made to leave the residence. He controlled the garage, the lights, the cameras, everything on his cell phone. I showed that video in court. It’s about 3:30 a.m., and the garage door just opened up. I’m jumping out of my sleep, running to my oldest daughter’s room. I thought she was sneaking out. She’s a teenager. I thought she was—I was like, what’s going on? She was like, sleep, Mom. What are you talking about? I was like, what’s going on?
The garage door opener, up and down. Up and down. I’m holding my phone. I said, as you see, here’s my other hand. The other hand is holding the phone. You see this. You hear the garage door opening and closing. This is the stuff that should not be happening. This man should not be riding by the house, trying to intimidate. He should not have pulled up in the driveway. Look, there he is. But because it was his house, they couldn’t really stop him. Propane tank behind the door. That’s what he put at the back door and turned it on. It’s his house.
Megan Hannay:
It’s psychological.
Tashia Scott:
That’s exactly what he did. That’s exactly what he did. He tried to pull on my mental so hard, like, I’m going to get you. It became the time where I said, see, yeah. I’m not scared of you. I’m not scared of you at all because at this point, I’m afraid of how I’m going to react when I actually get in front of you. I’m frustrated now, because the court system made me aggressive and made me have to want to be on guard. Now, I’m walking around, I’m driving in my car with a pole because now, I can’t be physically afraid of you, because I see, as we say, I don’t have backup. I don’t have backup. I’m tired of all these resources because to me, a resource is a business card, is an email, or it’s a group.
This app is a help system. I’m going to help you. I’m going to empower you, and we are going to get that guilty verdict. We’re going to. As long as you follow the steps in this app, you will get what you need. God forbid that you’re still here to tell your story. Please.
If I could get a point across to any victim, any survivor listening, you have to push forward, no matter how afraid you are, no matter how much things you feel like you’re going to lose. I lost half of the things in my house. If God didn’t send the man in my life during my time to help me move forward, I don’t know if you’re a believer or a spiritual or whatever, but that perfect timing that I met this person. He came in and he looked at me and he said, you need help and you need to understand that you need help, and I’m here to do it for you. Again, I felt undeserving for someone to even come in and help me.
The mindset that these abusers inflict on us, they don’t even have to put their hands on you. If you tie up someone’s mind, you’ve got them physically. You’re good. That’s where even today I struggle with. Even with this app coming into life, today I struggle with that.
Megan Hannay:
Yeah, because it’s like psychological warfare.
Tashia Scott:
Yeah. It is definitely, definitely. You keep hearing it in the back of your mind. I have to tell myself every day, I’m worthy. I’m worthy. I’m worthy. I’m beautiful. I’m strong. I am intelligent. I created this. It’s okay. It’s okay. Tash, you got this. You can put the lipstick on and you can feel beautiful and you can feel encouraged and strong, and then that thing comes in the back of your head. The first abuser said, no one’s going to love you the way I love you. Where are you going? You really think you’re going to start another relationship?
Look at your life. It’s good, right? You’ve got everything. I had Tiffany boxes, fur coats. I still drive a Jaguar from the second abuser, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. Every time I’d get a blow, I’d get a big gift. I think a lot of women, the gift is not important, more important than your life. It’s not important. It’s not. I’d rather wear a cigar band on my finger than a $3,000 diamond and I’m getting my ass kicked at home or I’m getting verbally or emotionally abused. Today, I know what love is.
Megan Hannay:
You’re also working—you have a plan to work with women, too, right? You’re developing a shelter. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Tashia Scott:
Empath 360 is the home of domestic violence victims and their co-survivors. The co-survivors are these beautiful babies. When I was in my abuse, I didn’t know how my children were being affected. I didn’t know. I thought, they’re children. They would be fine. But my 17-year-old recalls conversations and fights and arguments, and that broke me. I said, my shelter has to be something that’s mental greatness 360 degrees. Not just for the mom or the dad, but also for the children. This shelter is a 90-day program. I mean 90 days. If you can commit to 90 days with me, I promise you, you will be rerouted.
You will gain back your mental and emotional strength. Everything about who you are. I was stripped of doing things financially. I had to learn how to balance a checkbook, because that was taken from me. One of my abusers, he wanted me skinny. The other one, he wanted me a little curvy. Now, I had to go in and find out, what do I like? What works for me? In this shelter, you’re going to get to know who you are. Who are you? There’s a gardening component. Do you remember the Karate Kid?
Megan Hannay:
A little bit.
Tashia Scott:
In the movie the Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi, he’s a sensei and he’s taken Daniel-san. Daniel-san, he wants to learn how to fight. Instead of him walking in, he’s thinking he’s going to come in today, he’s all geared up. He’s ready to learn karate. Mr. Miyagi said, go wash the cars. Go mop the floor. He’s working on the bonsai tree. He said, I want to learn how to fight. I didn’t come here to wash a car. I didn’t come in here to work on a bonsai tree. Mr. Miyagi very quietly stands up and he was giving up life lessons. Every time he gave him a life lesson, he put him in a life situation. At Empath 360, it’s going to be ran the same exact way. The gardening component is so beautiful. I get teary-eyed when I talk about the gardening component.
I don’t have a green thumb. My hands kill everything. One day I picked up, I think it’s the little Chia Pet thing. I was trying to understand. You just put the seeds in and you water? Then, you watch and it grows. If we can learn how to take care of a garden, because your heart is a garden. Your mind is a garden. If we could de-weed and if we could care for, if we could give it enough water, enough sunlight, talk to it, keep the insects away for a garden or a plant, what makes my life any less? While you’re in the gardening component of that shelter, you’re going to learn reinvention of yourself. We accept the abuse whether we know it or not. We give them the attaboy. It’s okay, honey. I know you had a hard day.
The other component of this shelter is, you’re going to learn about your finances. You take control. Bring it to the table. My hands were tied. I had these Fortune 500 men. They did everything. They made me very comfortable. I didn’t have to do too much. That’s not going to happen today. We’re going to show you how to balance your own books. We’re going to teach you about why you even attach yourself to this person in the first place. Remind yourself. I’m a second-time DV survivor. I had to say, what is it about me? Not them. Why did I attract a second one? I was so desperate, looking for that special love, that love to nurture me, when I had it inside of me all that time.
Everything we can ever need in life is inside of us, and we’re to give it to someone. They don’t come in and give it to us. I had to learn that. That was one of the hardest lessons. When we come to that module over at Empath 360, I know there’s going to be some revealing moments. Dealing with so much brokenness, it’s no joke. It’s going to be tons of existential therapy. Ninety vigorous days, and they’re not going to be nice days. We are going to make you see it for what it is because I don’t want to just bring you from a place of abuse to release you 90 days, and you go right back. I went back to my first abuser three times. Three.
One time, we were at a weekend family and I was like, this is awesome. I was like, are you crazy? This is not awesome. This is dysfunction. We just want to cut it out. Cut it out the system. All we need is 90 days. That’s it. Remote location, away from the city. No cell phone, no Internet. Just you. You and your children. That’s it. Men will be allowed, but they’re going to have their own separate side. Mixing abuse and dysfunctionality together, next thing you know, you’ve got a full-blown relationship with two survivors. That’s chemical warfare.
Megan Hannay:
Take a break, yeah.
Tashia Scott:
That’s chemical warfare.
Megan Hannay:
I think one thing you said that’s really interesting that I think about a lot, too is the idea of that fairy-tale romance. I feel like our society has this idea of, in movies all the time and it’s this—the way that things are supposed to be. I think you’re right. I think growing up, we learn a lot about what love really is. I think it’s so different than a lot of what our culture puts out there. It’s a lesson that can take some time.
Tashia Scott:
It is. We want the fairy tale. It’s beautiful. My second abuser was the fairy tale. He was amazing. I kid you not, he was perfect Joe in a box. Aesthetically, great to look at. Twenty-five years as an engineer. Already had the house. He even had the two dogs. I’m like, can’t get any better than this. This guy is a god, and he treats me like a queen and my children love him. My family loves him. Next thing you know, who the hell are you? Hello? Where’s that person? What happened?
Honestly, my second abuser, I was gone so quick because I had learned from the first time. I told him. I would tell him, because his abuse began to be very verbal, extra verbal. I would go, someone literally beat me so that I can feel good about myself, because I was just a little backwards. You don’t get to talk to me that way anymore. Every time he would come, and he would give me verbal blows, I’d begin to rebuild my self-confidence. We’ve been through this before. We’re not going through this again. I would say, listen, if that’s what you need, you’re not going to get it from me, because I’m done. I’m a different type of survivor today. I’m going to go to your buds. He didn’t understand or get it. I said, yeah. Whenever I feel like I have to be on guard, that’s not love.
Love doesn’t physically harm you. I had to understand that. Love does not harm you. It corrects you. It doesn’t curse at you. It doesn’t spit in your face. It doesn’t rip hair from your head. It doesn’t give you a black eye and busted lip. It doesn’t choke you until your voice is unrecognizable to yourself. It doesn’t go and lie and say you did something, and that’s why they retaliated. I know what love is today. I want to help all survivors to understand what love is. Love is not in a box. It’s freedom. It’s freedom.
Megan Hannay:
That’s a good way to put it. I’m amazed by all the things that you’re doing. A couple more wrap-up questions. First of all, how have you been able to do some fundraising? Have you learned a lot about fundraising? I know you had a Go Fund Me. Based on that expression, it is one of the banes of the existence of a lot of people that are doing non-profit work.
Tashia Scott:
Yeah. This fundraising journey is…your company has been amazing. Story Driven has been awesome. People here and there. I actually got my first endorsement from a lady who’s in Canada and a lady in Ireland. The lady in Ireland, her story was so beautiful. She sent money, and her son is actually going through a terminally ill—he has a terminal illness. She said, I want to give to your cause. I’m like, you need to keep your money. She said, I need to help you. All the way from Ireland. She said, if you ever come across the water, you have a place to stay. I’m like, this is mind-blowing. I think there are people who want to give. I’m coming in contact with this. I want to be able to give you $100. I want to give you $200, but all I have is $10 or $20. I go, okay.
That’s $10 more than what we had. $20, $10, $5. It helps move us forward. It’s not enough to send me a message and say, this is going to help millions and millions of people. We need the money. We need the money. It’s a Go Fund Me. It’s going kind of slow right now. I’m about to do some neat things, work on some giveaways. Shout-outs to Precise Fashions, who’s going to be creating a great product line. It says, No Fear. I should have worn the t-shirt. It says, No Fear, and it has Empath 360. We’re going to put some survival quotes. T-shirts, headbands, scarves, all that type of things. We need to generate more money, because this is a right now solution to what seems like a never-ending problem.
Megan Hannay:
That’s awesome. Fundraising, I feel sometimes it snowballs once the right few things happen. It can be tedious. Final question. I like to ask all my guests a little bit about the community that they’re local to. You said you live here in Durham. You obviously met people here through the American Underground, and that’s how you launched your app. What to you is unique about Durham and this community? Why are you a local here?
Tashia Scott:
I came to Durham seeking new opportunity. I just love the culture. The culture here is amazing. Super amazing, and it’s so diverse. I’m such the free spirit. I can’t live anywhere in a place that’s not diversified. Coming from the big city of New York, we’re super diverse. To me, coming here, and especially the downtown area. I come alive down here. It’s beautiful. They get the startups. They get startups here.
Megan Hannay:
We have quite a few.
Tashia Scott:
We have some amazing startups here. American Underground is a breeding ground for startups. I’m proud to have been a part of this community.
Megan Hannay:
That’s awesome. Is there anything I haven’t asked you about that you would like to mention?
Tashia Scott:
The Domestic Violence Coalition, they’ve chosen my story for Valentine’s Day. I just want to say this to anyone who’s dealing with domestic violence, because Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Ever since I’ve been out my abuse, I’ve been out my abuse for two and a half years. Two years and a few months. I didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. I felt it was just taboo for me. I want to tell all survivors, celebrate. Celebrate. Put on something sexy. Celebrate. Celebrate your life. I don’t care if you’re still single. Celebrate the fact that you’re still alive, because I thought I was going to lose my life one Valentine’s Day, so celebrate.
Megan Hannay:
In a way, what you were talking about, it’s a different kind of love story.
Tashia Scott:
It is.
Megan Hannay:
Tashia, thank you so much.
Tashia Scott:
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Megan Hannay:
Absolutely.
