Celebrating Our Graduates
Regina, one of our very first graduates, stands at the podium. She is a light. She came before them and she knows their journey. Behind each graduate is a mentor, ready to present their certificate. They represent love that shows up. Over and over again.
Current residents line the front row. Their sister's stories give them hope and light their way. One day, they will be graduates too.
The Tennessee State Capitol bears peaceful witness that women survivors feel freedom and stand tall like a field of thistles. Their strength and resilience is beautiful, undeniable, and palpable.
Words of Hope and Healing
AMANDA
"In this community, we share the same pain and trauma. This is a place of relief."
ANGELA
"Here I have processed pain I had never dealt with before. Through the support of my sisters, I have mourned and healed! I have learned a way of living I haven't lived in 30 years."
BRENDA
"Today I know that I matter. I didn’t believe in myself before. I want to keep the momentum going and see good for someone else come out of my own healing."
BRITTANY
"Going through therapy and doing all this work on myself has taught me how to sit still. I’m not where I want to be, but I'm not who I was 2 years ago."
CHARLETTA
"When I came to Thistle Farms I was utterly hopeless. I have learned that I am worthy and I am valuable - to my family, society, and my sisters before and after me. Now I am hopeful."
LEIGH
"This is the first safe space I've ever experienced. Here I have learned to love myself. This place is my family."
LENA
"The life I came from I never want to go back to, because now I have a life I never knew existed."
TERI
"I have been given another chance at life, a fresh start. Finding Thistle Farms was certainly divine."
