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After surviving abuse and burying children, woman opens shelter to save others

"I was pushed down the stairs, and the next morning when my daddy got up to go to work, he found me laying down on the pavement in a pool of blood."

MARRERO, La. - When Patricia Jackson thinks back on her teenage years, she remembers, like many young people, wanting to be like her friends.

"I was one of those hot chicks," Jackson said.

Jackson started going out with boys and ignored her parents, getting married at just 18 years old.

The relationship turned abusive but she stayed.

"I thought I was in love. I wanted to prove a point and show those who said,'Don't do it,' that I did it," Jackson said.

But as the years went by things got worse and worse. At one point she found her husband in bed with another woman. Jackson had two daughters during the relationship, and four years in, she was pregnant with her third child.

"I was pushed down the stairs, and the next morning when my daddy got up to go to work, he found me laying down on the pavement in a pool of blood and the baby had fallen out of me," Jackson said.

She finally walked away.

"I couldn't go no more. I was worth more than that," Jackson said.

But domestic violence became a part of her life again. Twenty years ago, her daughter, Dominey, also found herself in an abusive relationship, but she didn't get to move on. Her boyfriend killed her, stabbing her in the neck with a syringe, with her one-year-old twins in the apartment.

"I was angry and I had a lot of hate," Jackson said.

Jackson's story does get better. She eventually found a happy relationship, remarried, and raised her two grandchildren.

But it was not enough. She says God sent her a message that he needed her to do something else. But she didn't know what until it came to her in a vision.

"I said,'Oh my God, this is what you wanted me to do," Jackson said.

Jackson says that God wanted her to start a battered women's shelter. It took ten years of planning, but today Beyond the Veil is a domestic violence shelter and resource center, which has 6 rooms for battered women and their children,.

"I help them find housing, help them get a job," Jackson said.

Looking back on her journey, Jackson has learned that it pays to be real in life.

"Stop pretending. Open up and let somebody know when you are hurting in life. Don't try to put that happy face on when you're sad," Jackson said.

All those years ago when Jackson finally stopped pretending that she had a good relationship, she was able to save herself. And by admitting her truth now, she will be able to save so many others.

To make a donation to Beyond the Veil: Domestic Violence Shelter and Resource Center, call 504- 259-4844.

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