- November 1, 2024
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Family Life Center CEO Trish Giaccone and gala master of ceremonies Dr. Earl Johnson. Photo by Paige Wilson
Family Life Center CEO Trish Giaccone applauds survivor Jennifer Cauldwell after she speaks about her experience with FLC. Photo by Paige Wilson
Survivor Jennifer Cauldwell hugs her oldest son MJ Cauldwell, 14, after she spoke during the event. Photo by Paige Wilson
Flagler County Undersheriff Jack Bisland, who is on the FLC board of directors, and his wife Cindy Bisland. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland at the gala. Photo by Paige Wilson
Survivor Jennifer Cauldwell speaks of her thankfulness for FLC's help and support. Photo by Paige Wilson
A group of Palm Coast nurses dance after the speeches. Photo by Paige Wilson
Unmasking domestic violence was the theme of the fundraiser. Photo by Paige Wilson
At age 28, Jennifer Cauldwell felt like a dog trapped in a cage by her abuser.
“They let open this door, and you don’t know where to go. You don’t know whether to go left, right, straight. So you find yourself backing yourself up, back into that cage, because you’re terrified — because you don’t know what to do,” the Palm Coast resident said.
Cauldwell said her abuser had punched her in the face, and she had to miss work over two black-and-blue eyes.
“My abuser had torn up all of my clothes and bleached my shoes; anything that he couldn’t physically tear up, he bleached,” she said.
As a mother of four boys, Cauldwell gained the strength to seek help from the Flagler Life Center, a Flagler County nonprofit dedicated to providing services and support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
Now, at age 34, Cauldwell stood in front of a packed ballroom at the Hammock Beach Resort on Saturday, Oct. 19, at a Masquerade Gala that FLC held as a fundraiser. This year’s theme was “Unmasking Domestic Violence.” At the beginning of the evening, guests were instructed to symbolically remove their masks all at once.
Cauldwell spoke of her gratefulness for the help the center gave her.
“The Family Life Center donated a whole new wardrobe to me from other women cleaning out their closest and donating to the Life Center,” she said. “It really is beneficial for that.”
But their impact on Cauldwell has gone far beyond that. FLC gifted her children a Christmas filled with wrapped presents. Advocates from the center went to court with Cauldwell to provide emotional support during the processions that ended with her abuser getting two years of house arrest and five years of felony probation.
“I’ve worked very hard for the things that I’ve accomplished, but if it wasn’t for the support team that they were able to provide for me, I don’t know how I would have done it,” she said.
Even as Cauldwell spoke at the gala, recounting the ways FLC helped her pave a new path, FLC CEO Trish Giaccome stood right by her at the microphone, offering a supportive smile and pat on the back for encouragement.
Through assistance from FLC, Cauldwell earned her GED and is now a licensed cosmetologist. She’s paying it forward by cutting the hair of the women and children at the FLC shelter.
“If I didn’t have that support, I’d probably be back in that cage and be in that same situation that I left,” Cauldwell said.
The center is always seeking donations. Visit http://www. familylifecenterflagler.org.
“Every penny helps,” said Linda Russell, chair of the FLC board of directors. “It helps somebody in even the smallest way.”
