Abuse Victim Credits Mercy Home For Saving Her Life
CHICAGO (CBS) -- She was choked, beaten and nearly drowned, over-and-over again when she was 14 years old, but now her life's been turned around thanks to a Chicago faith-based community.
Lydia Rossi has been showing young girls how to avoid abusive relationships and, on the eve of her wedding, she shared her story with CBS 2's Pamela Jones.
When Rossi marries her fiancé on Saturday, she'll take one more step toward leaving a past filled with abuse behind her.
"He was abusing me and choked me in front of a mirror. And he choked me so hard, like, I could see my face turning purple," Rossi said. "And I could hear the ringing in my ears, because I wasn't getting enough oxygen, and he was whispering in my ear, 'I'll tell your mother goodbye for you.'"
It happened with a young man her mom forced her to live with for two years. Rossi was attending Whitney Young High School, just 14 years old.
Her abuser was 17, living on his own next door to Rossi. She said her mother basically pushed her into his house and gave Rossi to him.
"He befriended my mother. And he was giving her, you know, his grocery cards. My mother was poor. We were on food stamps and welfare. So, you know, she warmed up to him," Rossi said.
A social worker introduced her to Mercy Home, where people like Father Scott Donahue helped her take back her life.
"It's about education. It's about therapy. It's about preparing them for the work world. It's about spiritual development," Donahue said.
On Saturday, the priest who has been like a father to Rossi will walk her down the aisle at Mercy Home as father of the bride.
She's marrying the love of her life in a place that renewed her faith and opened her heart.
"If it wasn't for mercy, I might not still be here. They really did save my life," Rossi said.
Rossi earned her bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University and her MBA from the University of Chicago.
She urges teens to focus on education and warns young women to steer clear of anyone who tries to isolate or belittle them.
