SALISBURY — Tonya Dflowers knows what it’s like to be a victim of domestic violence. Dflowers is the founder of Community Grace Inc., a local nonprofit whose mission is to help as many people being subjugated to domestic violence.

“Our vision is to bring awareness in Rowan County for domestic violence victims, battered women and children. To be able to provide shelter for them in the near future,” Dflowers said. “I do it because I was a victim. I was a victim of domestic violence at the age of 12. I lost my mother to my stepfather at the age of 12, I saw my stepfather beat my mother with a baseball bat.”

On Oct. 25, to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Dflowers organized a meeting and balloon release at the Rowan Public Library in Salisbury to share resources and information on what people can do when they are going through these dire circumstances.

Community Grace Inc. offers counseling, group support, life skills, job placement, identity recovery and works with the solicitors office to expunge incidents off people’s records. Right now, they can put women and children who have gone through domestic violence in a hotel or refer them to another organization for shelter, but Dflowers wants to do more.

“That’s not good enough for me. It’s a passion for me because as a victim and a survivor, I experienced domestic violence, so I know firsthand what it’s like to be abused and not have anywhere to go,” Dflowers said.

Dflowers says they will open their own facility to shelter victims of domestic violence within a year. Representatives from Ally Home Care were at the meeting to promote their healthcare services that are “tailored to the needs of you or your family member” that can involve personal care assistance, companionship, or home management.

Towards the end of the gathering, Dflowers led people outside to release a balloon to remember those whose lives were taken due to domestic violence. Dflowers cautioned that domestic violence goes beyond physical harm, with psychological, emotional, and spiritual abuse being just as harmful.

“There’s all types of abuse. You don’t always have to have a black eye or a busted lip to deal with domestic violence,” Dflowers said.

Given everything that Dflowers has endured, it’s a testament to her strength that she is as proactive and resilient after all these years. For some, it would be easy to give into their circumstances, but for Dflowers, it means making sure no one else undergoes the horrors she has faced. Her aim is to establish a way for everyone to have the kind of emotional pillar she wished she had.

“When they’re going through that trauma, they’re thinking they are alone, they’re thinking they’re by themselves, they don’t have anywhere to go, anybody who understands them. As a victim, I understand,” Dflowers said.