The Metro: Healing the mental wounds of domestic violence

, , May 14, 2026

What does it take to heal after domestic violence? JoJo Dries of On the Wings of Angels joins The Metro to speak on the mental health work survivors face.

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JoJo Dries runs On the Wings of Angels, a metro Detroit nonprofit meeting domestic violence survivors with shelter, therapy and community. For Mental Health Awareness Month, she joins The Metro on what it takes to begin again.

When someone finally walks out of an abusive home, we tend to think of it as the end of the story. The door closes, the survivor is safe, the danger is behind them. The truth, though, is thornier. 

Advocates say leaving is when the violence often spikes, when the threats escalate, and when survivors are left to rebuild a sense of self after years of being told they had none.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and on The Metro, we spend time on the parts of a story that are often left out, like what happens after the crisis.

JoJo Dries knows a lot about the aftermath. She runs On the Wings of Angels, which meets survivors at the moment when they’re ready to leave, with shelter, security, therapy, and a community willing to catch them.

Ahead of an event this month on the mental health impacts of domestic violence, Dries stopped by The Metro. She spoke with Ahlem Mahdhi, a fellow at WDET through the U.S. State Department’s Professional Fellows Program.

Editor’s Note: This conversation includes descriptions of abuse. If you need help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233, or you can text START to 88788.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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Authors

  • Robyn Vincent
    Robyn Vincent is the co-host of The Metro on WDET. She is an award-winning journalist, a lifelong listener of WDET, and a graduate of Wayne State University, where she studied journalism. Before returning home to Detroit, she was a reporter, producer, editor, and executive producer for NPR stations in the Mountain West, including her favorite Western station, KUNC. She received a national fellowship from Investigative Reporters and Editors for her investigative work that probed the unchecked power of sheriffs in Colorado. She was also the editor-in-chief of an alternative weekly newspaper in Wyoming, leading the paper to win its first national award for a series she directed tracing one reporter’s experience living and working with Syrian refugees.

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  • Ahlem Mahdhi
    Ahlem Mehdhi is a fellow at WDET through the U.S. State Department’s Professional Fellows Program. In her home country, Tunisia, she is a project and communication manager at Express FM, Tunisia's leading economic radio station. She oversees communications for two major initiatives funded by the International Fund for Public Interest Media and the Deutsche Welle Akademie, both focused on amplifying voices through storytelling and inclusive media strategies. Her work highlights the stories of youth, women, and people with disabilities, using narrative and production to drive social awareness and impact.

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  • The Metro

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