Dismissed True Stories
Dismissed True Stories is a survivor-led podcast that dares to break the silence around domestic violence, emotional abuse, and toxic relationships. Each episode shares the raw, unfiltered realities of what abuse really looks like. From overlooked red flags to moments of escape, and everything in between.
Created by a survivor-turned-advocate with a broadcasting background, DTS is where stories once silenced are now spoken. Loudly, honestly, and without apology. We’re not here to sensationalize abuse; we’re here to humanize survivors.
You’ll hear from survivors finding their voices, families forever changed by loss, and organizations working to support healing and recovery. Sometimes, it’s one survivor passing the mic to another with a piece of advice that could change or.. save a life.
But DTS isn’t just about telling stories of survival. Each episode's commentary helps you decode your own story, make sense of your experiences, and see the patterns you might have missed while in survival mode.
The tone? Like talking with a trusted friend. No fluff. Just truth.
Whether you're navigating narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, or coercive control or you're in the process of rebuilding your self-worth and healing your trauma this space is for you.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is finally tell your own story.
Survivor-led. Heart-led. Truth-led.
#DismissedTrueStories | A podcast for survivors and victims, by survivors.
Dismissed True Stories
See A Need Fill A Need: Tala's Closet
Dignity arrives in unexpected forms—sometimes as a toothbrush, sometimes as a pair of socks, sometimes as a space that says "you're seen and you're not alone." Today, I'm taking you on a journey that's both heartbreaking and hopeful: the creation of Tala's Closet, a free resource center for domestic violence survivors.
Tala Smith was brilliant, brave, and full of promise before domestic violence stole her future. Her mother Connie shared that Tala lived by the motto "see a need, fill a need"—words that crystallized into a vision for creating something meaningful from unimaginable loss. When survivors flee abuse, they often leave everything behind. The practical necessities—hygiene products, clothing, diapers, formula—become overwhelming obstacles to independence. Tala's Closet removes those barriers by providing essentials with no questions asked, no judgment passed.
The powerful synchronicity of timing cannot be overlooked. Days before our grand opening, a domestic violence homicide occurred just streets away from Tala's Closet. This devastating reminder of why our work matters has only strengthened our resolve. We're not just opening a closet; we're creating sacred space where dignity is restored, where survivors know they're believed, and where a community stands ready to help them rebuild. For the woman sleeping in her car tonight, for the mother who left with nothing but her children, for anyone wondering if escape is possible—we're building something different. We're continuing Tala's legacy by seeing needs and filling them, one toothbrush, one clean shirt, one act of compassion at a time. Check the show notes to learn how you can support this mission and help transform lives in your own community.
https://watersedgebuckeyelake.com/talas_closet
Amazon wishlist coming soon!
Looking for ways to give back or help out? Give Waters Edge Community Center a follow on Facebook and send them a message. Their dedicated volunteers will be in touch with you soon. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1FwvsmLYRk/
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788
Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood
Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.
🔗 Follow Along:
Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.
dismissedtruestories@thesurvivorsisterhood.com
Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.
Hey girl, welcome back to Dismissed True Stories. And if this is your first time listening to DTS, I'm Elissa In this podcast. It's a space for survivors, by survivors. We tell the stories that some people would rather silence. We give survivors a platform to share their stories, while leaving advice for victims who are still stuck, to be able to escape too. Not only that, I break in with sidebar commentary that helps you decode your own experience of abuse in real time. We hold space, we laugh, we cry and sometimes we heal together too. Okay, full transparency.
Speaker 1:I'm recording this episode in my childhood bedroom at my parents' house in Ohio. I've got my travel mic with me, so if I sound a little different, that's why. But I couldn't wait until I got back home to share this, because this episode this one is about Tala. This one is about Tala. Now, before we dive in, I just want to say a very quick and huge thank you. Because of you, this podcast is now in the top 10% worldwide and we've officially unlocked monetization. And while I am so proud of that and so grateful, it feels right to pause the celebration this week, because this week isn't about me.
Speaker 1:This week is about Tala. I've talked about her here and there in other episodes here on DTS, but I just want to take a moment to explain to you who she is. Her name is Tala Smith. She was soft and smart and brilliant and brave, and she was in love. She was planning her future, and then her story was interrupted by domestic violence. But it's not over Not if we tell it, not if we act on it. And I didn't know Tala when she was alive, but I know her now. I've spent hours listening to her mother, connie, share the kind of memories that make your heart both break and expand at the same time. Connie has become family to me. Her strength, her softness, the way that she's walked through grief and still somehow chooses love it's changed me.
Speaker 1:So when Connie and I were talking, we started talking back in February about her daughter's life, her daughter's legacy. Connie had shared with me that Tala lived by a motto see a need, fill a need. So to me there was no question that my vision of starting a free store for domestic violence victims and survivors closet naming it after Tala, with the motto of see a need, fill a need, is. It's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at this point in my life, and so I contacted Connie and I asked her permission and, and she was so touched and she said yes immediately. And, um, I actually get to meet Connie in person for the first time tomorrow and I, just, I can't wait. I can't wait to finally hug her. I can't wait to see her face when she sees the closet for the first time. I, just, I cannot wait to give her, just, I cannot wait to give her just the smallest amount of peace in this painful journey that she's been living. All right, here we go, we are driving over into the closet for the.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, this is amazing. Oh my gosh, some of these still have tags on them. Some of the clothes. You guys did such an amazing job. I didn't see the girls boxes wow, you can't see, um, what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:But there is women's clothing on one side. There's kids clothing. On the other side, there's shoes, there's underwear, there's shorts shorts I'm looking at laundry detergent bags and boxes of stuffed animals. A shoe rack. There's purses on here. Right here on the back wall, there's hygiene products toothbrushes, toothpaste, tooth brushes, toothpaste, makeup, diapers, formula Wow, this is amazing.
Speaker 1:Baby stuff this is all babies. Baby blankets oh my goodness. There's toys on the bottom, baby toys. Oh, my God, boys and girls. I have no girls yet, no girl baby, anything. Yeah, okay, that's zero to 12 months. Wow, wow, this is amazing. Thank you, you're welcome. You're welcome.
Speaker 1:This was a lot of work. Oh, I didn't even see there's like, wow, this is some overspoken you. Oh, my gosh, okay, so we can just like pull from this. Yeah, it passed inspection. Yeah, thank you, I breath away.
Speaker 1:Seeing Tala's name on the door, seeing the closet in its physical form for the first time, I had a moment where I just, you know, I just kind of let it all sink in. This closet isn't just a space that's filled with essentials like toothbrushes, tampons, diapers and clothing. It's a sacred space. It says you matter, you're seen and you're not alone.
Speaker 1:And the timing of it just a few streets down from Tal's closet, there was a domestic violence, homicide over this past weekend, right here, right here where this closet is opening, in the same community, in the same community, and I can't begin to explain how that felt. I just felt such a heavy responsibility as the new DV resource in this town to respond, and so we will. I will be attending a fundraiser on Friday night for the life that was lost. And on Saturday, at TALA's grand opening, we are also hosting a small vigil. And it's weird, I think, for me to say, but it does seem that Tala's Closet is arriving right at the exact moment when it's needed the most.
Speaker 1:And while Tala's Closet isn't a solution to everything, it is a start, it's a symbol, it's a safe place where survivors can come and get what they need, no questions asked, no judgment, just support. It's toothbrushes and body wash and pads and formula and socks. But more than that, it's dignity. It's hope for the woman sleeping in her car, for the mom who just left with nothing, for the teen who just left with nothing, for the teen who doesn't know where to turn. The closet says we see you, we believe you and we're building something different.
Speaker 1:Now and before we close, I want to take a moment to say thank you so much to every single person and business who helped bring tala's closet to life, whether you donated products, time, money, energy or just love. This closet exists because of you. Your names will be honored and your hearts remembered. All right, let me find my list of sponsors because I want to read them to you. Bruce Westfall of Big Kahuna Laundromat in Newark, ohio, buckeye Lake, dental, jackson Annes, junction City Elementary.
Speaker 1:Kayla Newlin, andrea Crego, sue Stoll, newark, manicor, tammy Flinster, vicki Christensen, mid-ohio Food Pantry, vicki Justice, holy Family Church, soup Kitchen, thornville Family Medical Center, jackson Town, united Methodist Church, waters Edge Community Center, susan Nixon, the Lighthouse in Fairfield County, new Beginnings In Transition, savannah Matthews, mayor Goodman, everyone who cleaned out their closets to donate, all the volunteers who put in the work to make this happen and who will continue to run the closet. My parents. Thank you for learning about domestic violence, thank you for supporting my vision and thank you for helping make it a reality. And, last but not least, connie Tolbert, thank you for trusting me with your daughter's story. Thank you, bratalla.
Speaker 1:If this episode moved you, please, please, do me a favor and share it, post it, text it, leave a review, rate it five stars, because those things help this podcast reach the people who need it most. And if you want to help support Tal's Closet, check the show notes. We've got ways that you can get involved, from donations to supplies to volunteering. Next week I'll be back with regular scheduled programming. More survivor stories, more decoding your own experience in real time time. Tala's story will be coming soon. Save lives, because we are not just surviving. We together are building something sacred. We're building it for her and we're building it for us. And remember the world is a better place because you are in it.
