Vintage Now fashion show raises over $169,500 to help Safe House of Southeast Missouri

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – There is beauty, there is healing, there is hope.

That’s the message organizers of the Vintage Now fashion show want to send. They announced the event raised $169,500 for the Safe House of Southeast Missouri.

Fox 23’s Holly Brantley spent time with the models and volunteers that made the show possible, joining them as a fellow member of the performance cast for Empower — Journey to the Future.

One of those women, Kristin Winter a mother of four, knows firsthand what it means to be a survivor — someone who escaped an abuser and found a new future.

“I’ve actually had a past where I had to go to a safe house with my kids so I can’t even imagine what it would have been if that wasn’t offered to us at the time it was forced upon us,” Winter said. “We were told we had to go there which was good for us. In the situation I was in I would not have left.”

“Where would you be without that safe house?” Brantley asked.

“I don’t even want to picture that to be honest,” Winter said, “not in a very good place and I thank god every day that we are not in that situation now.”

She said the help her family received was life changing. Her kids — now between the ages of five and 13 — are finally over the trauma.

Winter has a message for others who may be afraid to leave.

“If people who love you are telling you to leave, you need to listen — because I didn’t want to listen and I didn’t want to leave,” Winter said. “I wanted to believe there was going to be changes made and maybe sometimes there are but you need to be in a safe place in order to try to see changes happen.”

Brantley met Kristin as they rehearsed for the Vintage Now 15 halftime show. The theme, Empower — Journey to the Future, was fitting for the women on the stage celebrating their own walk into a better tomorrow.

Choreographer and writer of the halftime show, LaKrisha Moore said she’s witnessed the power of the show for ten years.

“I know that a lot of these ladies that are involved in the show have been involved in a situation — myself as well — that even makes it kind of more special because it kind of gives you your power back,” Moore said.

“How much better is your life now?” Brantley asked Winter.”Oh my gosh my life is amazing now — I can’t complain I have these wonderful ladies that I’ve connected with,” Winter said. “I just don’t want anyone to ever feel like they are alone.”

Winter offered words of encouragement to other survivors.

“You can be ok by yourself, in your situation. I really think the best thing you can do if you’re in a bad situation is to see yourself as the strong person that you are,” Winter said.

To learn more about the safe house of Southeast Missouri click here.

For more information about Vintage Now, click here.