A Car’s Heartwarming Journey

The story of how two sisters are making transportation possible for TDP women.

Emily and Maddie Edwards with the car Emily donated to The Dwelling Place.

Driving to the store, commuting to work, picking up your kids- these daily tasks are simple routines for many of us. We just hop into our cars and go. 

However, for women escaping domestic abuse, it’s not always so simple. Often, residents at The Dwelling Place arrive without cars or driver's licenses for a variety of heartbreaking reasons:

• They had to leave everything behind when they escaped their abuser. 

• Their abuser kept them from having a car or obtaining a driver’s license. 

• Their abuser restricted them from working or having their own money to afford a car.

When a woman arrives at The Dwelling Place and begins to rebuild her life free from abuse, one of her first needs is transportation. 

In 2022, Emily Edwards was having trouble selling her car. “I prayed about what to do, and I felt like I was supposed to donate the car to The Dwelling Place,” she said. Emily had learned about The Dwelling Place when its founder, Diane Stores, spoke at her Bible study.

One year later, Emily’s sister Maddie started working for TDP as the Program Coordinator and uses the car daily! Maddie brings residents to work, appointments, the grocery store, or pick up kids. “Maddie will send me fun pictures of her using it,” said Emily. “It’s cool that the car has reached beyond myself.”

The car provides women vital transportation until they have their own car. “It gives me gratitude for everything donated to TDP because I know it’s people like Emily,” said Maddie. “It has inspired how I steward my things and shaped my mindset of giving.”