Jennifer Jones had a successful career as an educator, a master’s degree and a secret she carried quietly.

She was a domestic violence survivor.

In 2020, when Jones discovered that the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns intensified domestic violence cases nationwide, she knew she couldn’t stay silent anymore. She launched Hagar’s Heart, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting survivors. 

Still, it took her a year to admit she was a survivor.

“People ask, ‘Why did you stay?’” she said. “Because it’s someone you love. It’s someone who says it’s never going to happen again, and you want to believe them. It was the father of my child.”

For years, Jones had an idea of what survivors looked like. But in her mind, they didn’t look like her. That term was for women who relied on shelters, had no resources or a support system. Experiencing verbal and emotional abuse more than two decades ago, she dismissed it. She stayed. 

“I had resources,” Jones said. “I had a place to go when I needed to escape. Based on what the world told us, it disqualified me.”

The cycle didn’t break until her partner strangled her — the scariest night of her life. 

Jones and her 2-year-old child never went back.

“Once is too many,” Jones said. “This is my story, and the biggest thing is the fear of what survivors feel.

Victims who have been strangled are 750% more likely to be killed by an abuser, according to the Domestic Violence Services Network. 

Jones credits her child for saving her life because her child gave her a profound reason to endure and overcome challenges. There weren’t statistics to warn survivors of the risk from staying with abusers, she said. 

“You can do whatever you want to me, but you will never do this to our child,” Jones said.

Hagar’s Heart draws its name from the biblical story of Hagar in Genesis 16:13, when Hagar realizes that God sees her. The organization aims to reflect this, aiming to affirm survivors’ worth and ensure they feel seen and loved.

One of the nonprofit’s notable products is the “I See You” box that is filled with 17 self-care items, handwritten letters and reminders that survivors are not alone. 

In its first year, Hagar’s Heart delivered 238 boxes. 

By 2025, more than 8,500 had reached survivors through nine partnerships and organizations. 

The organization is volunteer-led with around 100 volunteers who contribute at various times, alongside five interns in the fall. 

“Giving them those self-care boxes literally lifts their spirits,” board member Michelle Morgan said. 

‘They are not alone’

Morgan knows the stakes all too well. 

As a former Fort Worth Police Department victim assistance unit leader, she became a strangulation expert after working a 2005 Fort Worth homicide case that shook her career. The case involved an inmate who murdered his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Underwood, a six-month pregnant woman, and her 7-year-old son, Jaden.

“That case changed my trajectory,” Morgan said. “That death was preventable.”

She has carried their memory ever since. A framed illustration of “Jaden’s Magic Door,” a children’s book created in his honor, sits alongside their photo at a local survivor support center.

Some people think domestic violence is only physical and sexual abuse, but emotional and verbal abuse can be just as damaging, Morgan said.

Hagar’s Heart now runs annual events like Santa’s Shack, which provides gifts to families, and a Women’s Day brunch around Mother’s Day. While the nonprofit serves men and children, its mission centers on empowering women and rebuilding their lives. 

“It’s about giving survivors tools to navigate, to create that life of independence many of them don’t have,” Morgan said.

Volunteers also play a critical role, board President Vicki Sypien said. 

“They really enjoy connecting with survivors, sharing that they are not alone and that they are valued,” Sypien said. 

Intimate partner violence alone affects over 12 million people every year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Data shows 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men 18 and older have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Jones didn’t come from a family with domestic violence, she said. 

“It’s not generational, it knows no boundaries, and people of all ages are affected,” she said.

For Hagar’s Heart, the mission is clear. Lend a hand and give survivors hope. For many, that support can save lives.

Orlando Torres is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report.

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