Transformation Story

Meet Christy Stillwell

Meet Christy Stillwell, the head of domestic violence services here at Homeboy Industries. Christy walked through our doors and started working in Homegirl Café seven years ago. She was working in catering when her case manager, knowing her story, approached Christy with an opportunity to facilitate domestic violence classes.

“After realizing that I was a victim [of domestic violence] and after working on myself, I wanted to take on that role in helping people. I wanted to advocate for victims. I wanted to hear women out and give them the empowerment that I got. So it was a dream of mine, to be a domestic violence group facilitator.”

But there was a catch: the position would require working with the perpetrators of domestic violence, not the survivors. Unsure if the position was right for her, Christy sought guidance from a trusted contact at her old agency: “She said to me, ‘By you helping one man realize that hitting a woman is not okay, you are saving a woman from becoming a victim.’ It all made sense to me. So today, that’s what I do—I work with the batterers.”