The Hammock, FL – Amy Hampton remembers the day she crossed the state line two years ago with a 10×10 truck and her three year old.
Fleeing a domestic violence situation after 12 years Hampton’s trek began in Texas, in March of 2019, and her arrival in Florida on April 1st wasn’t an April Fool’s joke, but a chance to begin her life over.
Finding the help she desperately needed in Flagler County after working with the

Family Life Center, on Sunday it was an opportunity for her to give back.
Supported by Hammock Wine owners Billy and Lisa Oates, Hampton, who serves as the restaurant and gourmet wine shop’s manager, helped organize and oversee a benefit to raise an estimated $3,000 for Flagler County’s only domestic violence and rape crisis center.
“This was a very important personal issue for somebody that is very important to me, so there was no reason not to,” said Billy, of hosting the event. “You put all your resources at it and let it do the best it can and make people aware of something that needs to be addressed.”
Rebuilding her life over the past two years has been an arduous process, but her story was one that has impacted those who’ve heard it, including her professor at

Daytona State College who helped get her story “Our Voice” published in the school’s literary magazine Ohana. https://dsc-ohana.com/our-voice
“My parents were here and I came to stay with them, and I went to the Family Life Center because I was completely starting over,” said Hampton. “They helped with a lot of different things, finding a job, clothing for work. I’m still rebuilding, but it takes a while.”
She’s planning to begin the process of working towards home ownership through

Flagler Habitat for Humanity in the near future.
While many survivors choose to remain anonymous, Hampton hopes her story will help others both to get help if needed or to help, if able.
“You can get out. If my story will help anybody, I think the worst fear for me wasn’t the leaving but the uncertainty of starting over. That’s scary,” said Hampton.
“Not only are you worried about this, but how am I going to do it, can I do it. You don’t want to be a burden and that’s what I was afraid of.”
Talking with guests at the benefit, community relations advocate Gary Perkins was grateful for the support from both Hampton and the community in what has been a lean year for nonprofits as they dealt with COVID’s impact on community outreach.
“We try to really empower the survivors that we work with so for them to come back and try to help us, whether it’s during the holidays or outreach events like this really makes a difference in what we do,” he said.
“Since the pandemic happened, numbers have shot up nationwide and it was very important for us to get creative in our outreach and events. This is one of the ways we can reach a part of the community that may not know our services have been available for 30 plus years,” said Perkins.
New to the community, Paige Naylor and her mother Kathy Hardtke said they wholeheartedly support the work of the Family Life Center to empower survivors.
“I think one the most important things is standing up and actually speaking,” said Naylor.
“I know it’s hard to speak. We get censured into not speaking, everybody tells us you’re less for speaking, you cannot speak because you’re a woman, you cannot talk about it, but that’s not true. You try to find a way to speak and talk about it. This is something we support and any woman I know would support.”
Pictured: Sharing her personal story, Hammock Wine & Cheese manager Amy Hampton was supported by owners Billy and Lisa Oates, when asked to host a fundraiser to benefit the Family Life Center on Sunday, February 21, 2021.