Sheila, who has survived two abusive marriages, is on the board of Support Network for Battered Women, based in Mountain View.

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THE WISH: BUS PASSES, PAJAMAS AND TOYS FOR KIDS, GROCERY CERTIFICATES

Where battered women find support

the first time Sheila's husband hit her, the bruises were so severe she couldn't open her eyes for three days. He promised it would never happen again, and she believed him. The last time he hit her, Sheila says, he almost killed her.

Released from the hospital with a broken jaw and her teeth ``in a little plastic bag,'' Sheila decided to take her daughter and never go back. Hundreds more women in Silicon Valley have similar stories of abuse. ``Unfortunately, we have not seen a decrease in the need for our services,'' says Lisa Breen Strickland, executive director of the Support Network for Battered Women, based in Mountain View. The agency offers a free 24-hour crisis line, counseling, legal services, community education and shelter to women and their children in Santa Clara County.

``We want to think domestic violence is a problem in someone else's community, someone else's neighborhood,'' she says. ``But it's an equal-opportunity problem because it happens in the same proportion in all socioeconomic and ethnic groups.''

When women call or come to the Support Network, they receive customized services depending on their circumstances. Sometimes what is needed is counseling for the mother and children, and legal services to obtain a restraining order. Others need a hot meal and a warm bed. During their stay, they receive help in becoming self-sufficient -- whatever that may take.

Sheila has not only gotten out of two abusive marriages and worked through the emotional trauma of being beaten up, but also she now works as a legal secretary in her ``day job,'' and volunteers evenings and weekends with Support Network. She'll keep telling her story, she says, in hopes that others won't put up with the abuse she barely survived.

Support Network is one of several agencies offering hope to women leaving abusive relationships. Others include Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, Asian Americans for Community Involvement and Women and Their Children Housing (WATCH), all in San Jose, and the Shelter Against Violent Environments (SAVE) in Fremont.

Clients often arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs, so the shelters are in constant need of items ranging from toiletries to pajamas.

Each donation of $39 (19A) will buy a month's bus pass for a mom in one of the shelters. Each $10 (19B) goes toward cozy pajamas for a child. Each $12 (19C) will provide a storybook or a toy. Each $25 donation (19D) will go toward purchasing grocery and drug-store certificates so shelters can supply their clients with food, formula, diapers and personal items. And for kids feeling lonely and lost, each $8 (19E) will provide the fuzzy companionship of a stuffed animal.