A Voice For The Voiceless By Terry L. Watson Photos by Latasha Barnes
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope – Romans 5:34 (New International Version). When trying to envision the bigger picture of your life or career, I imagine that few of you see yourself going through pain and feeling hopeless before becoming an accomplished professional. Although most of us would prefer that we coast through life on easy street, the truth is that no one accomplishes anything in this world without the scars to prove it. This is definitely the case for inspirational domestic violence advocate Latosha Barnes. The founder and director of Patricia’s Place domestic violence shelter, serving Chicago’s west side and south suburban communities, knows firsthand what it is like to endure the pain and scars of domestic violence. “My first experience with abuse occurred when I was a young girl, who experienced my mother Patricia being beaten and introduced to drugs by her ex-husband,” said Barnes. “Despite my grandmother attempting to shield me from this violence, it would not take long before I realized what was going on.” Although Barnes hoped never to endure the kind of life that her mother, whose namesake is now a beacon of hope to the hurting women of Chicago, chose to overcome, it would not take long before her family’s history caught up to her. At the age of 20, four months after marrying her first husband and now a mother of two young children, Barnes began to experience the traumatic experience of spousal abuse.
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