Tiffany knows what it’s like to be unable to return home. Facing abuse from a past partner, she sought refuge at a women’s shelter in Connecticut where her needs were not met. Instead, sleeping on bunkbeds lined up in a cramped room with one shared bathroom, she was overcome by the feeling of hopelessness and the worry that she and her son had no place better to go.
That’s why Tiffany wants women surviving domestic violence in Utah to feel confident that they can make a fresh start in a place that will feel like home. She seeks to empower them to leave their abusive situations and enter a spa-like, wholistic experience where they can truly heal and write their next chapter with the counselors to guide them. Unlike many shelters that tend to be restrictive, women will be welcome with their children and pets.
Preliminary plans are in the works for the bespoke and drug-free Alula Sanctuary. Self-funding this initiative, in addition to accepting grants and donations, Tiffany’s vision for the retreat includes programming like yoga, pottery, equine therapy, and horseback riding, with the option of natural healing sessions led by professionals. Women at the Alula Sanctuary will leave with the resources they need, whether that’s an attorney, new skills, or a job interview, and most importantly, feeling safe and empowered with attainable goals.
On more than one occasion, Tiffany has feared for her life. In Utah, she has a protective order against a past partner, which prohibits him from contacting her, among other threatening actions. Tiffany says he violated that protective order seven times and never was arrested. Instead, he only received tickets in the mail. This is because each time she called 911, the decision to arrest him was left to the discretion of law enforcement officers and whether they thought there was probable cause that he violated the protective order. Tiffany wholeheartedly believes that this is wrong and worrisome; after one strike of her reporting his violations, her ex should have been jailed. To advocate for herself and other women in Utah, Tiffany hired a lobbyist to propose changes that would require offenders to waive their right to child support and address issues related to modifying protective order violations.
