This is one of a series of stories about the nonprofit agencies that receive money from The Gazette/El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund campaign that runs through the holidays.

After years of emotional and physical abuse, Carla fled to Colorado Springs to escape her husband of 12 years.

He found her here, but she was able to take refuge at TESSA, which has a safe house for women and children in need and provides counseling to help them recover from trauma.

TESSA has helped Carla, who did not want to use her last name, understand that the abuse she went through affected her children, too, even though they were not physically harmed. For years, Carla was physically and emotionally abused and raped by her husband.

“I’m actually doing a lot better,” she said recently. “I’m still working on my issues, but I can actually talk about it now. And me and my kids are still going to continue to need therapy, but we’re doing a lot better.”

When Carla’s abuser found her in the Springs, he raped her and she went to the police. A TESSA advocate came to help her, and that’s how she learned about the organization’s resources. It’s hard for victims to seek help, she said, but she encourages people to seek shelter and assistance from TESSA.

Carla now feels safe in Colorado Springs, far away from her abuser.

“It (TESSA) is a good place to get help for victims,” she said. “Even though it’s hard for them (victims) to get help, it’s a safe place. And there’s many resources that they can give out, even though you might not want to seek shelter there, but they’ve got a lot of resources, a lot of groups that you can go to.”