Pat Leader wasn’t looking for her “thing,” but it found her anyway.

One day, while grocery shopping, Pat ran into a friend she hadn’t seen in a while, and something was clearly wrong.  Her friend looked haggard and worn, with her children in tow.  When Pat expressed her concern, her friend confided that she had left her abusive spouse. She and her children had quickly packed a suitcase and sought safety in a shelter for abused women where they lived while she…