Chaw Su Su Win

My journey into this work began when I found myself as a survivor of domestic violence, living at a women's domestic violence shelter - a place I never thought I would end up in my life. During that really difficult time, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, so I re-enrolled in school because I wanted something to distract myself and constantly stimulate my mind. That's when I started my blog, Chawsuki, a personal platform where I write about my experiences and hope to share other women's stories - people who have gone through domestic violence or lived through homelessness. I wanted to feature other people's stories, so I started asking the women around me at the shelter if they would share theirs. Out of 30 women, I got a no from almost everyone because it's such a hard thing to go through. I realized that while I was so open to sharing my story, for a lot of people, that's the worst period of their life that they're not willing to share. There are so many stigmas around domestic violence, and many of these women were ashamed and felt like it was maybe their fault, or society didn't treat them well because of what they were going through. Now I focus on the intersection of storytelling and social work. I'm working on publishing a book and writing scripts because one day I want to share my story on the big screen. As a fellow at Clare Matrix, I go to different interim housing sites - places like hotels or motels that have been transformed into shelters for homeless people making their transition to permanent housing. I go there with my team and mentor, and I share my story of what happened in my personal life dealing with DV, addiction, mental health, and homelessness. I try to encourage them to get recovery services so that by the time they get their housing, it's sustainable for them. My biggest achievement is inspiring someone to get the help that they need, or encouraging them through the tough periods of their lives. I was once there, and I know how it feels to be at that low point. There's not a lot of support, and you can feel really lonely in it. Putting a smile on someone's face, or just knowing that you encouraged them to get help or get better - that's everything to me.