"With a drunken father willing to sacrifice her, defending the innocent, giving peace where there is rage and despair, and fighting for the greater good against the ruthless, I find myself drawn to Xena: Warrior Princess," Patti Prince, a night manager/advocate with Women's Service's Inc in Meadville says.
The youngest of 11 in what she calls a 'not so functioning family,' Patti went to school in hand-me-downs and she got teased. She tried to pretend it didn't affect her in anyway. But it did and she found herself even having empathy for others like her.
"I did find myself fighting with a lot of those kids(the buliies), not because they picked on me but because they picked on others like me."
Patti remembers her best friend coming to school bruised after her step-father beat and assaulter her. Other kids made fun of her. "I begged her to tell (authorities at the school), I knew, even then, it was the right thing to do, because it happened in my house too."
That was the last day she saw her best friend, a county agency came and took her away.
"To me it was the worst day of my life. She was the only one who understood. Not that we talked about it, but I think we both knew it was happening. After that day I didn’t share my thoughts or feeling with anyone but I needed to release the pain that I had felt. From there self-harm came into play, and from there my life was in a downward spiral. At 12 no one knew the pain the I had to deal with."
By the time Patti was in her early twenties she was divorced with three sons and working 2 and 3 jobs at a time. She was doing everything she needed for her sons, pushing as much of the anger and hurt … and guilt she had as far into her subconscious as she could hoping it would never again resurface.
"It is unfortunate that that pain never really went away." she said remembering the abuse she experienced as a young girl - not only physical, but sexual and emotional.
A call years later from her friend that was taken away when they were young really made Patti change her life. Her friend thanked her for making her tell about the abuse, how she ended up with a really good foster family and is really doing well for herself now.
"I knew I had to change my life." she said after hearing that her friend was doing well, that she no longer had to feel the guilt of making her tell, only to have her taken away.
Her actions had actually made a huge difference in her friends life.
She began to search for something she could do to improve her life and help others. She ended up wanting to volunteer at at Women's Services, a shelter for the abused and homeless in Meadville, but instead got hired right away. Today she works with young people, she works nights at the shelter, she conducts therapy groups, advocates for awareness about the LGBTQ community, domestic violence, homelessness and sex trafficking issues and she joins as many human resource fundraisers as she can to help out our community. Each October she organizes the "Walk a Mile in her Shoes" event in town to raise awareness about sexual and domestic violence.
"I don’t see my past as tragic, but as a stepping stone that put me on the right path. I can say I have healed my inner peace with teaching others how(to do the same), and I am where I need to be."
At a recent event where she spoke about violence against women and what she does and what Women's Services does she was asked how she viewed herself in what she does.
"Simply put, I have the arms to console, the ears to listen and the voice for those who go without."
"My super hero strength, would be having the ability to feel what someone else is feeling, and remembering what it was like to be where they are. And being the strength they need to keep going. So yes I could say I am a warrior always fighting for the greater good of others."
"So that is where my adventure truly begins. 9 years later, 2 not so civil divorces, 3 grown boys and I'm still fighting for those who need a voice."
She is Xena: Warrior Princess!
Women's Services has 24 hour hotlines to assist anyone in trouble or in need of help: 814-333-9766 or 888-881-0189
More information: visit womensservicesinc.org
To see more of the strong women in the series please visit: http://richardsayer.weebly.com/super-hero-series.html
The youngest of 11 in what she calls a 'not so functioning family,' Patti went to school in hand-me-downs and she got teased. She tried to pretend it didn't affect her in anyway. But it did and she found herself even having empathy for others like her.
"I did find myself fighting with a lot of those kids(the buliies), not because they picked on me but because they picked on others like me."
Patti remembers her best friend coming to school bruised after her step-father beat and assaulter her. Other kids made fun of her. "I begged her to tell (authorities at the school), I knew, even then, it was the right thing to do, because it happened in my house too."
That was the last day she saw her best friend, a county agency came and took her away.
"To me it was the worst day of my life. She was the only one who understood. Not that we talked about it, but I think we both knew it was happening. After that day I didn’t share my thoughts or feeling with anyone but I needed to release the pain that I had felt. From there self-harm came into play, and from there my life was in a downward spiral. At 12 no one knew the pain the I had to deal with."
By the time Patti was in her early twenties she was divorced with three sons and working 2 and 3 jobs at a time. She was doing everything she needed for her sons, pushing as much of the anger and hurt … and guilt she had as far into her subconscious as she could hoping it would never again resurface.
"It is unfortunate that that pain never really went away." she said remembering the abuse she experienced as a young girl - not only physical, but sexual and emotional.
A call years later from her friend that was taken away when they were young really made Patti change her life. Her friend thanked her for making her tell about the abuse, how she ended up with a really good foster family and is really doing well for herself now.
"I knew I had to change my life." she said after hearing that her friend was doing well, that she no longer had to feel the guilt of making her tell, only to have her taken away.
Her actions had actually made a huge difference in her friends life.
She began to search for something she could do to improve her life and help others. She ended up wanting to volunteer at at Women's Services, a shelter for the abused and homeless in Meadville, but instead got hired right away. Today she works with young people, she works nights at the shelter, she conducts therapy groups, advocates for awareness about the LGBTQ community, domestic violence, homelessness and sex trafficking issues and she joins as many human resource fundraisers as she can to help out our community. Each October she organizes the "Walk a Mile in her Shoes" event in town to raise awareness about sexual and domestic violence.
"I don’t see my past as tragic, but as a stepping stone that put me on the right path. I can say I have healed my inner peace with teaching others how(to do the same), and I am where I need to be."
At a recent event where she spoke about violence against women and what she does and what Women's Services does she was asked how she viewed herself in what she does.
"Simply put, I have the arms to console, the ears to listen and the voice for those who go without."
"My super hero strength, would be having the ability to feel what someone else is feeling, and remembering what it was like to be where they are. And being the strength they need to keep going. So yes I could say I am a warrior always fighting for the greater good of others."
"So that is where my adventure truly begins. 9 years later, 2 not so civil divorces, 3 grown boys and I'm still fighting for those who need a voice."
She is Xena: Warrior Princess!
Women's Services has 24 hour hotlines to assist anyone in trouble or in need of help: 814-333-9766 or 888-881-0189
More information: visit womensservicesinc.org
To see more of the strong women in the series please visit: http://richardsayer.weebly.com/super-hero-series.html