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A moving company will help you move out of your place for free if you are leaving an abusive partner. Leaving an abusive relationship is hard, for numerous reasons. Studies show that victims are often groomed for abuse and that their abusers—through techniques like gaslighting (making the abused party feel like they're 'crazy' or can't trust their own memories) and isolating them from friends and family—are often able to trap them in miserable relationships. All of these psychological factors are hard enough on their own, not to mention actually packing up your belongings and moving them.
So, to help with that part of an already difficult situation, Meathead Movers—a company with branches throughout Southern and Central California—will move people who are trying to flee abusive relationships for free, LA Weekly reports.
Meathead Movers was founded in 1997 by two brothers, Aaron and Evan Steed, when they were in high school. They called themselves 'Meathead Movers' because they enjoyed playing sports and lifting weights. They've partnered with seven area shelters where they help victims of domestic abuse get out of those relationships for good.
Good Shepherd, a transitional domestic violence shelter for women and children, is one such partner. Kathleen Buczko, Good Shepherd's Director of Institutional Advancement, told LAist that Meathead Movers will move their client's belongings from the transitional housing to their new, permanent housing "after their healing is complete." With other shelters, Meathead Movers will go to homes where men or women are living with abusive partners and move them from that home to a shelter.
"We know how hard it is to pack up someone's life and move it to a new location, but it's unimaginable to think about a woman and her children trying to pack up all their belongings and flee before the abuser returns home," CEO Aaron Steed said in a statement.
Anyone who feels like they may benefit from Meathead Movers' services should first contact a shelter so that the shelter can verify that it's safe for Meathead Movers' employees to go to work. If you or someone you know is trying to leave an abusive relationship, you can contact Good Shepherd for help here. You can also call the L.A. County District Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-978-3600 or the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-787-3224 or 1-800-799-7233. Anyone requiring emergency shelter should call 2-1-1.
