Category: News

Meet Sirois

Posted on November 18, 2019

This is the third in a series of posts about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. See first post. See next post.

NAME: Sirois, M.

ALIAS: “Vatic”

D.O.B: 12/91

LOCATION: Roanoke, VA

PSYCH EVAL: Stress, anger

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 5’10”, brown hair, brown eyes

ABILITIES: Intuition, knowledge of electricity, resilience, mechanical skills

DETAILS OF CASE

Sirois served in the United States Navy for five years as an electrician. He was honorably discharged in February 2018. Living in Hampton Roads after discharge, he struggled to get ahead due to the high cost of living, which hindered his ability to find stable work and housing. Transitioning back to civilian life proved difficult due to the lack of supports outside of the military to aid him.

Sirois, his wife Rachel, and children XXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX lived with extended family for a short time; they fled when the situation turned unsafe. The Siroises were homeless. Their belongings fit into the family truck and they were one month away from running out of gas money.

Sirois envisioned a better future for his family in Roanoke. They moved in November 2018 to pursue a fresh start. Teaming up with Agents XXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX of TAP’s Veterans Services, Sirois found a house and a job that uses the skills that he picked up during his military service.

Sirois relies on his resilience, his desire to keep learning, and the support of his wife, and he has achieved successes over the past six months by harnessing these forces. He knows that the unimaginable can happen quickly, and giving up can be easy, but backing down is not an option when others rely on you. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Sirois will do anything to avoid returning to the sense of hopelessness that defined his family’s life for almost a year. His motivation is strong, and he applies a consistent devotion to improvement to ensure they won’t go through that again.

Sirois reports feeling lucky that he came across TAP. The Veterans Services showed his family that people care, reminded him of his capabilities, and gave him the chance to prove himself. He reported that when you feel that you have nothing, sometimes all you need is an opportunity.

ENEMY: Imperceptibility

Imperceptibility renders subjects impossible to discern. Like ghosts, subjects move about unseen among people who report sensing only a vague presence of the discouragement and desperation surrounding this plight. Subjects’ pleas for help go unheard and may be ignored, producing feelings of inadequacy and weakness. These feelings can create conflict in the psyche of the subject and, at times, cause the subject to surrender to the facelessness of life as a shadow.

NOW

Sirois has a job as an electrician. He and his family agree that they are in a much better place mentally and emotionally.

Sirois achieved victory, but not without help. Your role in the battle against poverty is to contribute help, however you can. A great place to start is by making a donation to TAP below.

Meet Isobel

Posted on November 18, 2019

This is a part of a series of posts from our 2019-2020 annual report about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. See first post. See next post.

 

NAME: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ALIAS: “Aegis,” “Isobel”

CATCHPHRASE: “Today’s the time.”

D.O.B: 4/79

LOCATION: Veracruz, Mexico; Roanoke, VA

PSYCH EVAL: Depressed, hopeless, afraid

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Petite build, brown hair, brown eyes

ABILITIES: Resourcefulness, willpower, love for her children

 

DETAILS OF CASE

Isobel was married to her husband, XXXXXXXXXXXXX, for nearly 20 years. At first he was kind, and they lived happily in their home in Veracruz, Mexico. Within six months, his true colors started to show. At first the abuse was verbal, and began to escalate before Isobel became pregnant with their first child.

After her daughter was born, Isobel fled to the United States where she had family in Roanoke, Virginia. XXXXXXXXXXX followed. Isobel says he was a “changed man” for a few months, but quickly fell back into his old ways of parties, drugs, and women while she cared for their child on her own. As they had more children, XXXXXXXXXXX became more abusive, at one point holding a gun to her head and threatening to kill her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX convinced her that she couldn’t call the authorities for help because she didn’t speak English, and they wouldn’t understand her.  She tried to escape by XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX but returned for fear of her children’s safety. XXXXXXXXXXX tightened his control and ensured her dependence on him by taking her phone, car keys, money, and legal documents, and preventing her from leaving the house.

Isobel became isolated, deeply depressed, and experienced crippling fear. Unable to sleep or eat, she often locked herself in the bathroom and cried for hours. Only her love for her children gave her hope and the will to live.

According to a source, her family encouraged her for years to stay in the relationship. “When is the time?” she asked them. “When he kills me? Will that be when you tell me it’s time to leave?” Fed up, she decided “today’s the time.”

THE ENEMY: ISOLATION

Isolation is suffocating. It envelops the subject from all sides. It makes the subject feel trapped, like there’s no help to be found.

It exploits the subject’s weaknesses, creating a victim who’s lost and afraid. Worst of all, it threatens to end the subject’s fight for survival by sapping them of all hope.

 

NOW

Isobel now has a safe home and a small business, and her children are thriving. With the help of DVS staff, she has applied for U.S. citizenship.

Operation Vanguard

Posted on November 18, 2019

This is a part of a series of posts from our 2019-2020 annual report about the battle against poverty, your role in the battle, and some of your allies in the fight. See next post.

 

Two days ago, at 2307 hours, our allies intercepted encoded communications meant for ranking members of our enemy’s organization. Upon decryption, the communication yielded a date and location for a meeting of the leadership in just over a week’s time. If the information in the decoded message were true, the meeting would be an unusual step for them since they rarely risk gathering in one place.

Yesterday, one of our sources inside the enemy’s organization managed to get word to us, confirming the intercepted message’s validity. Shortly after, Artifex Circumspector reported increased activity at several locations his agents have been surveilling. He believes key leadership members will be on the move within the next two days. You need to be on ground in the area before then, which means time is of the essence.

We’ve arranged transport for you on board a supply plane. Once you land, rendezvous with Artifex Circumspector. He will brief you on any new developments on the way to meet your team. Dossiers for your team members—both before and after training—are included herein. They are tough and resourceful and have already proven themselves in recent skirmishes with the enemy.

Fifty-four years have passed since the enemy’s last full leadership meeting. Many more may pass before the next one. This could be our final chance within a generation to strike at the heart of this centuries-old foe.

Good luck, Archistrategos.