Our Founder's Story
Vicki Williams
Founder of Selah Empowers
Vicki Williams
Founder of Selah Empowers
Vicki’s passion for starting Selah was born out of her own personal experience with domestic abuse. She knows firsthand the destruction, confusion, and fear that domestic abuse brings. It was Vicki’s desire for Selah to be a safe place where each person could share their experience and receive the help and support they need. She didn’t want anyone else experiencing abuse to feel alone, unheard, or as if no one would believe them. Domestic abuse can leave its victims paralyzed in fear and unable to move forward.
Vicki’s vision was to create a place that empowers individuals victimized by abuse by providing help, hope, and healing. Throughout the years, Vicki has met many individuals experiencing domestic abuse. With the encouragement of one of her pastors, and a series of events that could have only been orchestrated by God, Selah was offered office space and received a donation to help with start-up expenses. Sherry Norman France, a licensed social worker, therapist, and friend, agreed to partner in developing Selah, and together they started the first series of classes in February 2019. Vicki’s hope is that the personal devastation of abuse will be replaced with a renewed sense of purpose, value, and identity as each person moves forward in their healing journey and lives fully into the person they were created to be.
Participant Stories
Truth and Hope
I started coming to Selah last year. I had been in a very destructive relationship for over 18 years. It was so bad that twice I needed to leave my home for safety reasons. After seeking help from both a domestic violence shelter and a counselor, I ended up being referred to Selah. Selah educated me and empowered me with knowledge, and I finally realized I was in an abusive relationship with no end in sight. It didn’t matter what I did, I would continue this unhealthy destructive cycle.
Emotionally Exhausted
I was emotionally drained and exhausted when I found the Selah group. I remember listening to one of the coordinators discuss the power/control wheel and a light bulb went on in my head. The ‘marriage difficulties’ now looked very different. I began to put to words all the things I was confused about: gaslighting, triangulation, isolation, projection etc. I met wonderful women who were welcoming and continue to openly shared their experiences. This has made me realize I’m not alone and I can overcome the experiences that
So Thankful
I have been with SELAH for 2 1/2 years now and I cannot express the level of thankfulness when you find a community of other women that help bring clarity to your hurtful marriage and demise of it. To realize that I wasn’t the only one, education that helped reaffirm everything that I was experiencing was very real, to be able to express how I feel and be heard and understood. Although each marriage is different, many of them are the very same in nature. To watch
Power and Control
I began attending Selah shortly after I filed for divorce. At that point, I had been married 11 years. I knew very soon after getting married that something was very, very wrong with my marriage. I just couldn’t fully make sense of what was going on. For far too many years I lived in fear, I was extremely emotional, I had severe anxiety, I had debilitating migraines, I felt like I lost my sense of self. Selah has educated me and shed light on what was really
Rescued
September 2021 Selah was introduced to me through my counselor at Pine Rest. He actually introduced it to me three times, but I was very much in denial about what was going on in my house. In the Spring of 2020, I fled my house for safety reasons and that is when I knew that it was time to get Selah involved. Selah has been my rescue for so many different things. But there are three main points for Selah. The guest speakers that are brought in
Good Enough
As I reflect on my “SELAH journey” I wonder….. where do I begin? Do I begin this reflection as a 20 year old starry-eyed bride? Or the next nearly two decades of exhausting all of my soul, mind, and strength into holding this beautiful institution of God’s design together? Fixing my marriage became my sole purpose for living, but my efforts were failing. I felt hopeless, helpless, confused, and trapped.Gripped in fear and severe depression, my body began to physically break down causing debilitating panic attacks, I couldn’t sleep
Fearful and Silent
I came to SELAH after going to five different counselors trying to figure out what was happening to me in my marriage. A friend of mine suggested I attend SELAH. Without really knowing what to expect, I showed up and talked to one of the directors who shared some resources with me and invited me to one of their meetings. After learning about the Power and Control Wheel along with the behaviors that abusers use, I realized that for 30 years I had been experiencing abuse within