Title: Hellgate Station

Artist: Patricia J

Medium: Mixed media

Date submitted: 10/18/24

Words from the Artist: “I went into the domestic violence shelter system of New York City in December of 2023. As a survivor, I felt compelled to find a way to express the trauma through art. The tears on the left represent the many sleepless nights at the shelter, of my own cries of desperation. There is beauty in pain, which is why there are iridescent gems placed in the tears... I left the shelter system in January 2024 after realizing that staying in the shelter was only going to deteriorate my overall health and wellbeing. The prescription bottles are placed on top of the awareness ribbon for domestic violence. This was the result of the mental anguish I was faced with after entering and leaving the shelter system. Domestic violence is a health care issue. Staff dealing with domestic violence survivors need to have trauma-informed care and offer resources to their survivors. Otherwise, you retraumatize the victim, and leave a survivor hopeless. Due to confidentiality, I will only disclose the name of the PO BOX location which I repeatedly had to use: Hellgate Station. The butterflies symbolize the strength and hope I have gained and will continue to gain after setting myself free from this place and the DV shelter system of NY.