Bernice Torres

The Story behind Bernice Bags:

I was born in Chicago, IL in a dysfunctional family. My father was very abusive and unfaithful. Because of the abuse my Mother ran away with her (4) children to Puerto Rico. My father ound us again and continued with the physical abuse. "During my years in PR, I was sexually molested by a family member".  We ran away to Connecticut. My father managed to find us the abuse continued. After many breakups between Mom & Dad, 

I ran “away from home” at the age of 15 because my mother told us that Dad was coming back home. My boyfriend at the time told my mother that we had been together sexually and that he wanted to marry me. My mother did not hear anything else and I was obligated to get married because of culture and not to bring “shame” to the family (like if domestic violence was not enough shame already). In my head I was running away from all the abuse I endure since birth.

My story changed to worst because it was a new kind of abuse. My first domestic violence episode was 6 months into the marriage, he punched my face. To me, that was kind of normal in marriages because it is what I saw throughout my life. The situation got worst with time. It escalated to being raped, beaten all hours of day in front of my two children. When I was pregnant with my first child at 19, he hit me in my face and left a mark, I was induced because of it. I lived that life for 17 years. I went to jail twice because after he beat me, I called the police and because I tried to defend myself from the abuse, I was given warrants (since at the time that the police responded, my husband was gone). He cheated on me a couple of times as well. He had an alcohol and drug abuse and died at the age of 35 with an overdose.

I met my 2nd husband and married him 6 years into the relationship after the birth of our daughter. I had doubts of why not to get married, but I did anyway just so that my daughter would not grow up without a father. This relationship was all about psychological abuse, a different type of abuse I was not used to. I lived like that for 7 years until I decided to move away from him and my past from Connecticut to Indiana. That’s when I decided to start the “Purse Drive Foundation”.

For 5 years I decided not to date anyone and stay celibate until the right man came.  I had heard a preaching from Joyce Meyers of how woman are receivers and man deposit into a woman. As females, we must cleanse spiritually, mentally, and physically from all previous relationships before jumping into another relationship, It was not easy to stay single and celibate for 5 years. I wanted to heal from all my past and find myself. During that time I was able to go to school for Criminal Justice Administration and Human Services and earned a bachelor’s degree. I got a job as a Behavioral Case Manager and with that I was able to see many other women suffer from domestic violence that ended in drug abuse and prostitution, among other post-traumatic disorders.

Throughout my years of domestic violence, I didn’t have a support system to help me get off such environment or teach me what it is to be in a safe.

That is the reason behind Bernice Bags. It is my hope to bring awareness to all victims regardless of age, sex orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, color, religious preference, and offer a free hand of support to those who have no one.

Today, I am bless to have met my current husband; it is the first time in my life I can experience what it is to have a healthy relationship and have someone supportive, a great father, a husband, confidant, and friend.

With your donations and support, all efforts will be possible and a Bernice Bag will reach someone in need that has escaped to a Domestic Violence Shelter to survive.