Linda's Voice was started give other domestic violence victims the chance to feel the same relief they felt when they confronted their stepfather. (Photo from Linda's Voice)

They spent a year preparing to confront the man who killed their mother 23 years prior in a domestic violence dispute. Expecting to be nervous and frightened during the confrontation, the sisters said they surprisingly felt empowered.

“It felt really good to sit there across from him and look him in the eye and let him know what he actually did and how it affected us,” the oldest sister Kelley explained.

The sisters wanted to give other domestic violence victims the chance to feel the same relief they felt when they confronted their stepfather. So, they started Linda’s Voice, a non-profit organization, in Los Angeles in early 2012.

Linda's Voice connects with women through social media and word of mouth, who they can then counsel and refer to existing safe houses, medical centers, and attorneys. The goal is to give women a non-judgmental network of people they can feel comfortable around and lean on throughout the recovery process.

“Having our sisterly bond really helped (in the recovery process) because we didn’t feel alone,” explained Summer, the youngest sister.

The sisters know what victims of domestic violence go through because they did not just experience it with their mother, but also with their personal relationships. When Summer started college, she was looking for “acceptance, approval, and love” and thought she found that in her boyfriend. It wasn’t a loving relationship, but a “jealous and emotionally abusive relationship."

“We never hit each other,” she explained, but they would “get into a fight and throw things at each other” every now and then.

It was her sisters who were constantly trying to pull her out of the relationship.

“They helped me get through it,” she said.

Kelley also experienced an emotionally abusive relationship that lasted just under two years in college.

“I completely had trust issues,” she said, “and I started looking through his pockets and notebooks.”

She started to find notes and phone numbers from other girls and got upset. Her boyfriend always had an excuse and told her “don’t be stupid” and “I’m not going to do anything like that.”

“He kept me under his thumb,” she said, which drove her crazy. “I became the physical one because I would punch him and throw books at him or hit him.”

Kelley said it got to the point, when she found out her boyfriend had been seeing another girl, that she had a realization.

“I never had a good example of what a healthy relationship was supposed to look like,” she said, “but I knew what I was experiencing wasn’t a healthy relationship.”

So she decided to leave.

Amanda, the middle sister, experienced the most violence out of the three. She moved to Vegas where she met a man who soon became her boyfriend.

“He was never physically abusive until his anger escalated after a couple of years,” she explained.

The man was “very jealous of me,” said Amanda, and got so angry one night “he almost killed me.” It was after that night that she started to realize “the patterns I was creating with the guys in my life, I was recreating the same experience that my mom had.”

“I had no foundation,” she says.

The sisters reach out to women through social media outlets and traditional media outlets. They have been featured on “The Steve Harvey Show” and the “Ricki Lake Show” to spread the word about their organization. They have also been endorsed by singers Pink and Steven Tyler. They've partnered with existing homeless shelters and safe houses, directing women to their partners and also speaking with the women at the shelters. They don’t have an office, but as Kelley explained, they "currently work from home and are seeking office space and work environment for our team and editing staff." 

There are currently three programs in place through the sisters' organization.

The first program is called the “Money Tree Grant Program” which is a yearly grant they give to existing organizations, such as homeless shelters and safe houses, to help them continue their work.

The second program is called “Real Eye” which are videos of domestic violence victims sharing their story. The goal of "Real Eye" is to show women how they can turn “tragedy into triumph” through other women’s stories. The program features women from around the world, and the group recently traveled to Kenya to speak to a woman living there who had been in a violent relationship.

The third program is called “Global Voices” which is a two day program which helps women write their story. They pair with writing mentors on day one and then share their story with other program participants on day two.

The sisters believe sharing stories is an important step in the recovery process for domestic violence victims.

To move on with your life, “you must process the grief and pain within the depths of your soul...which is a hard thing to do,” said Kelley.

If you would like to contact Linda’s Voice or simply would like more information, you can check out their Facebook page or contact Kelley at kelley@lindasvoice.org.

Contact staff reporter Kim Leoffler here.