GREENSBORO, N.C. — Over a decade ago, Brenda White found herself severely hurt at the hands of a man who was supposed to love her most.
"Back in 2012, I was stabbed by my ex-husband 10 times and left for dead," recalled White.
Since then, White has gotten the help she needed to heal. She's also become an advocate, sharing her story with hundreds.
"To have to build your life over again from the abuse and to not know exactly what's going, to happen from one day to the next, having to travel and it's just like an onion just peeling layers and layers back you know because there's so much you have to go through to heal," said White.
Statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence shows nearly 20 people each minute are abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
Katherine Johnson with the Guilford County Family Justice Center works every day to connect those people with resources.
"If we look at some patterns, we often see people are committing crime often have a long history of committing crimes and lack accountability. So, in order to think restoration, we have to do some survivor safety, and we have to hold people accountable for what they're doing," explained Johnson.
The center is helping host the state's annual conference. They've invited state police officers, attorneys, and advocates with hopes they will find ways to make the state a safer place.
"If a law enforcement has a strong report yet the case gets dismissed or denied in the court room, or a jury doesn't convict it's really interconnected in a lot of energy gets focused on one specific organization when really this is a specific community issue," said Johnson.
And for those who survived, people like White have been there, and promise there is life after domestic violence.
"I'm navigating through life, you know, I'm just enjoying life, in spite of my wounds, in spite all my scare I look at them as scars of healing," exclaimed White.
Help is available for people experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, or child and elder abuse.
Reach out to Greensboro's Family Justice Center at (336) 641-7233.