SEATTLE -- Most of the domestic violence cases we hear about are the tragedies -- murders, suicides, and a system that didn't work or couldn't help enough to divert disaster.

But there are success stories. And this time, the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers helped make it happen with the case of one woman who is starting a new life, in a new place, with a renewed faith in others.

"It was very dangerous, and it escalated very, very fast," said "Marissa." We are not using her real name to protect her new life that began just four months ago when she escaped her abuser.

"I just kept praying that I could find a way to get out," she said.

Marissa left behind her car, money, credit cards, and cell phone -- anything her abuser could use to find her.

She found her way to the Eastside Domestic Violence Program and their emergency shelter.

"I left with nothing," she said.

This was a woman with a college degree and owned her own business. And now she had nothing.

Abuse took her by surprise. "I didn't know where it came from, I didn't know what I'd done, I didn't, I just couldn't grasp the whole concept of it," she said.

At the shelter, Marissa slowly rebuilt her confidence and her self-esteem. But then she wondered what next?

"Many women don't feel safe, or feel like they'll be stalked by their batterer," says EDVP's Barbara Langdon. "Therefore it's really critical that they completely disappear and completely leave the area."

So Marissa planned her disappearance. She made planes to go back to school in a distant state; arranged for tuition and a place to live. The only problem was the cost of airfare. It was the one thing she couldn't pay for while working at a fast food job.

Eastside Domestic Violence has to prioritize for emergency situations, and their budget won't cover travel.

"The resources out there are few and far between," says Langdon, "and the future's not looking good right now."

Marissa turned to the Problem Solvers, and we turned to hometown Alaska Airlines. Alaska graciously donated not one, but four travel vouchers for Eastside Domestic Violence -- enough to help Marissa and at least three other women.

"It was wonderful that they stepped forward to basically start a new life for someone," says Langdon.

Marissa has already left the area and is enrolled in school and started on that new life. She wants other women like her to know there is hope, there are options, and there can be a future.

"And I really am so grateful for the help, it means everything to me," she said.

The Problem Solvers were surprised to learn that while there are a number of charitable organizations that provide airfare, most are related to needed medical care, critically ill children or to soldier's families.

There is no program specifically addressing domestic violence victims who must relocate for safety. It's Marissa's hope that, someday, she can "pay it forward" and help other women in this situation.