CHARLOTTE — Juliana Lozano remembers being a 17-year-old senior in high school when she had her first real relationship with a man who started off charming, then turned controlling.
“Controlling different friends that I had, controlling what I would wear,” Lozano said.
Soon she became a mom.
Soon the abuse turned physical.
“I had threatened to call the police because we had got into an argument, and he keyed my face with my car keys,” said Lozano.
With bruises on her face, she says he took her cell phone and held her hostage overnight.
“I knew that the next day, that when he went to work, and I was going to have some time away from him, that I did not want to look back,” she said. “So in my head I was planning, I was coming up with, like, a safety plan on what I can do to get away from this situation.”
That plan? She would finally tell someone she trusted about the domestic violence, ask her landlord to let her move into another unit or break her lease, and file a restraining order.
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The Greater Charlotte Hope Line takes call 24/7. It’s free and confidential.
Director Jasmine Hensley says Hope Line advocates can help create a safety plan if you’re staying in place, an escape plan if you want to leave, or just provide support if you need to talk.
“So we really focus on the hotline, about on just really meeting that person where they are,” said Hensley.
In 2025, the Hope Line received 8,930 calls, 6,172 calls for domestic violence, and helped created 6,503 safety plans.
Staying safe if things become volatile can mean moving arguments away from rooms where you know the abuser may store a weapon, or rooms like the kitchen where there are things that can be used as weapons.
Move out of rooms that have hard floors, have a “go bag” ready with money, a second phone or burner phone, clothes, medications, an extra set of keys, important papers like birth certificates, and anything you may need if you have children.
“Putting those things in a bag, somewhere that’s in a closet that that abuser never goes into, or just somewhere that it won’t bring attention to because, as we know, you know, leaving can be the most dangerous time in that survivor’s experience,” Hensley said.
Lozano made it out and is now working on a documentary sharing her story of breaking the cycle of violence.
She’s a social worker and founder of a nonprofit called Despierta, providing bilingual mental health services and educating teens, mothers and caregivers on what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like.
“The name Despierta came from the bible verse Mark 5:41, which is ‘little girl rise up.’ When I read that to me, I felt like it was a calling to help other women rise up and become the best versions of themselves,” Lozano said.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, the Safe Alliance Hope Line serves all of greater Charlotte.
The number is (980) 771-4673. It’s available 24 hours a day.
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