BILLINGS - For 28 years, Angela's Piazza has been a lifeline for women in Billings who have experienced abuse or addiction, helping restore self-confidence, courage and hope for thousands of women.
One of those success stories belongs to Caitlin Saxton, who has spent countless hours in the kitchen at Angela's Piazza over the past few years. The kitchen serves as one of the main gathering places at the women's drop-in center on Grand Avenue.
"I didn't have anybody in my corner. I didn't know one place from the next and what next steps to take," Saxton said.
Watch how one woman says she rebuilt her life through Angela's Piazza:
When Saxton first started coming to the women's center, she was trying to get her footing after years of domestic abuse.
"Coercion. Domination over me. And it wasn't always physical but especially emotional manipulation. I felt trapped," Saxton said. "It's the cycle of abuse like its abuse and then repair and then abuse and repair."
People like Cassie King listened to her story at Angela's Piazza. Saxton says she learned she needed her basic needs met first — like clothing and even food — before she could move toward restoring her mental health.
"Every Monday I showed up and I learned like this is what abuse looks like and this is what you can do to heal it," Saxton said.
Those lessons and support worked. Saxton discovered she could regain control of her life.
"I could have my own agency, and I could have a choice in my life again. It was a really big deal," Saxton said.
One of those choices was to enroll at the University of Montana and work on getting a bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders.
King says watching Saxton's transformation has been amazing.
"To see how far she's come and how far she's taken what she's learned and done so much of the footwork of gathering her," King said.
King says Angela's Piazza has been providing several roads to recovery and well-being since 1998.
"We do that through our education class, we do it through our drop-in and scheduled counseling, we do it through support groups which help women gather in a space where there are other people that have been through similar situations," King said.
King says Saxton is just one of dozens of success stories she's witnessed, and she believes there will be hundreds more in the future.
"We hear about some of the worst that humanity can do to one another. But the flip side of that is I also get to see so much growth and change and outreach. I don't know that many people will ever get to see and witness in the same way that myself and the rest of our staff do on a day-to-day basis," King said.
Saxton shared a note that reads: "Two years ago I left a domestic violence situation. Today, I'm in school, working, volunteering, and building a life I am proud of. Organizations like Angela's Piazza make recovery possible. They provide safety, support, and community when someone's world has just collapsed. Leaving is terrifying, but staying in something that harms you is worse. You don't have to have everything figured out. You just need to take that first safe step. Recovery doesn't happen in isolation. It happens when a community decides women are worth protecting and investing in."
The Women's Drop In Center will host its 21st annual Souper Bowl fundraiser Friday at American Lutheran Church at 5 Lewis Ave. near downtown Billings.
The event costs $40 per person and includes a bowl of soup, bread and a unique piece of art to take home.
There will be two separate serving times: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for dinner.
