In the late 1990s, professional writer and CHOICES volunteer Rosanne Rosen began a writing project with women who were staying at our shelter. The project, which occurred over the course of several months, gave women who were staying with us the opportunity to work in small groups, composing open letters to a variety of recipients.

While we've changed the names of the clients involved to protect their identities, the letters themselves are unchanged and represent the thoughts, feelings, and hopes of women who, at that time, had made the choice to seek shelter from their abusive partners.