You Deserve to Feel Safe
Free, confidential support for anyone living with emotional or physical abuse, here on Cape Cod, the Islands, and across Massachusetts.
Before You Read On
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A Note from Erika
Abuse doesn't have to leave a mark to be real. Being put down, controlled, blamed, or cut off from the people who love you wears a person down in ways that are hard to explain to anyone who hasn't lived it. If that's your life right now, I'm glad you found this page.
I want to be straight with you. My practice helps people change habits, ease stress, and rebuild confidence. It isn't the right support for someone who is still living with abuse. What you need first are advocates who do this work every day. They can help you think through your safety, your options, and your next step, for free, and without telling you what to do.
Everyone listed below is trained for this. You don't have to be ready to leave, and you don't have to call it abuse, to call any of them. Later on, when you're safe and it feels like the right time, the confidence work I do may help. That can wait. This can't.
Erika Slater, CH
Free At Last Hypnosis, Mashpee
Talk with Someone Now
All of these are free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day. You don't need to be in danger to call.SafeLink
Call 877-785-2020, the state's domestic violence hotline. Advocates speak English and Spanish, with translation in more than 130 languages. TTY 877-521-2601, or dial 711 for MassRelay. More at casamyrna.org.
Independence House
Call 800-439-6507 to reach the Cape's own advocates, any hour of any day. Free and confidential for anyone in the fifteen Cape towns. independencehouse.org.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. TTY 1-800-787-3224.
Call or Text 911
If you or your children are being hurt or threatened right now, call or text 911. In Massachusetts you can text 911 when speaking out loud isn't safe.
What Abuse Can Look Like
Many people wonder if what they live with really counts. These are patterns advocates hear about every day.
- Constant criticism, name calling, or being told you're too sensitive when you're hurt.
- Control over money, the car, your phone, or where you go and who you see.
- Being blamed for their anger, or being told nobody else would put up with you.
- Threats about the children, your pets, your job, or your immigration papers.
- Being told things didn't happen the way you clearly remember them.
- Any pushing, grabbing, or hitting, and any unwanted sexual contact.
If several of these sound like your life, you aren't imagining it and you aren't overreacting. Every agency on this page helps with emotional abuse, physical abuse, or both.
Staying Safe While You Look for Help
- Call from a phone that isn't shared or tracked when you can.
- Advocates can help you make a safety plan long before you decide anything.
- You don't have to give your name to call a hotline.
- Leaving can be the most dangerous time, which is why planning it with someone matters.
Trust what you know about your own situation. You are the expert on your safety, and a good advocate will treat you that way.
Help on Cape Cod and the Islands
Local agencies with people who know these towns, these courts, and these hospitals.Independence House
Cape Cod's domestic and sexual violence agency since 1979, with offices in Hyannis, Falmouth, Orleans, and Provincetown. Counseling, support groups, shelter, and advocacy, all free. Services in English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. Hotline 800-439-6507. independencehouse.org.
Court and Restraining Order Help
Independence House advocates work inside the Falmouth, Barnstable, and Orleans courthouses. They can walk you through a restraining order and sit with you in court, so you don't have to face it alone. Call the hotline to arrange it.
CONNECT to End Violence, Martha's Vineyard
The Island's domestic and sexual violence program, part of Martha's Vineyard Community Services in Vineyard Haven. Free and confidential counseling, safety planning, and advocacy. Hotline 508-696-7233. mvcommunityservices.org.
A Safe Place, Nantucket
Nantucket's only 24-hour hotline for domestic violence and sexual assault, free to residents and newcomers alike. Advocates and therapists speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Hotline 508-228-2111. asafeplacenantucket.org.
Children and Older Adults
If a child is being hurt, call the Child at Risk Hotline at 800-792-5200. If an older adult is being hurt or neglected, call the Elder Abuse Hotline at 800-922-2275. Both take calls around the clock.
Cape and Islands District Attorney
Victim witness advocates support people through the court process across Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties, whether or not charges are filed. capeandislandsda.gov.
Support That Fits Your Life
Abuse happens in every kind of relationship, to people of every gender.LGBTQ+ People
The Network/La Red is led by survivors and works with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, kink, and polyamorous communities across Massachusetts. Hotline 1-800-832-1901, in English and Spanish. tnlr.org.
Teens and Young Adults
Love Is Respect helps with dating relationships that hurt. Call 1-866-331-9474 or text LOVEIS to 22522. On the Cape, the Independence House teen text line is 508-375-5144 during business hours.
Men Who Are Being Abused
Every hotline on this page helps people of all genders. Independence House, SafeLink, and the national hotline all take calls from men, and their advocates will take you seriously.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Reach SafeLink by TTY at 877-521-2601, or dial 711 for MassRelay and ask for the hotline. The national hotline's TTY line is 1-800-787-3224.
If English Isn't Your First Language
SafeLink advocates speak English and Spanish and can bring in an interpreter for more than 130 other languages. Independence House offers services in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
Native and Indigenous People
StrongHearts Native Helpline offers culturally rooted support from Native advocates. Call or text 1-844-762-8483. strongheartshelpline.org.
If You're Worried About Someone
Being the person who stays steady matters more than saying the perfect thing.Say What You See
Tell them plainly that you've noticed how they're treated and that it worries you. Then let it be. Pushing someone to leave often pushes them away instead.
Stay in Their Life
Abuse works by cutting people off. Keep inviting, keep texting, keep showing up. Being the one person who never gave up can matter years later.
Share the Numbers
Pass along SafeLink at 877-785-2020 or Independence House at 800-439-6507. You can call either one yourself to ask how to help.
This Is Not How Your Story Has to End
One call is enough to start.People rebuild after this. They find safe homes, steady work, and relationships that feel easy instead of careful. It rarely happens all at once, and almost never alone. The advocates on this page have walked beside thousands of people on the Cape and the Islands, and they will walk beside you too. You can call before you're sure.
About This Page
Free At Last Hypnosis is not a crisis service or a domestic violence agency, and messages sent to our practice are not checked for emergencies. We share these resources so you can reach the right help quickly. Phone numbers and services change, so please check each organization's website for current details. Resources last reviewed September 2026.