A local domestic abuse survivor is aiming to end domestic violence after discovering her purpose on the same road she says she was taken to be killed.
Sylvia Walker tells First Coast News she’ll never forget the night she was picked up from work and taken down a dark road by a man who claimed he would love her forever.
“I can remember him using his hand and hitting me," Walker said.
She was a 19-year-old mother when she realized her significant other was abusive.
“When he was in that rage, it was almost like a whole ‘nother person,” Walker said.
One summer evening in 1996 -- another attack, but this one felt different.
“I put my hand up over my head. I just remember at that time, I really thought it was getting ready to be over,” Walker said.
She screamed for help while trying to defend herself. She says he tried using a club to silence her, but during the horrifying moment, she was praying God would hear her cry.
“I said 'Lord don’t let me die like this,'” Walker said.
While rehearsing it in her mind, moments felt like hours. Suddenly, the scene changed.
“I remember him dropping on his knees, he started crying,” Walker said. “He was like, ‘Just go, just go, just leave me.'”
While the tables turned, in fear, Walker took him back.
“I felt compassion at that time because I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Walker wasn’t ready to part ways, but following another incident, which happened during the same year, the two split apart. It took Walker 20 years before revisiting McCoy’s Creek.
“I needed to everything so that I could heal,” Walker said.
Now, she’s no longer a victim. Instead, a survivor. She says she’s thankful the road that could’ve killed her became the place she discovered her gift of life.
“That’s the reason why I feel like I still have life,” Walker said. “I know it may sound crazy. How could your purpose be in a relationship that almost killed you or cost you your life? That was the road that got me to my purpose.”
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were 6,821 reported domestic violence offenses in 2017.
Walker shares her story all over the city, hoping victims will “break the silence.” She encourages anyone who may be in an abusive relationship to seek help.
The Hubbard House is available 24/7 to talk confidentially with anyone experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information or questioning unhealthy aspects of their relationship.