JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — A Jefferson County woman is taking a tragedy and turning it into her mission.
Alexis Lowery's mother was murdered by her stepfather in 2010.
More than a decade later, Lowery is now president of the Mary Daniels Foundation.
The domestic violence nonprofit officially launched in January 2022, to empower survivors and honor Lowery's mother.
"My mom was in a domestic abuse relationship with my stepdad for two to three years. On August 3, 2010, he killed her after years of abuse. She filed for divorce and filed an order of protection, she did everything right and still it went wrong," Lowery said.
"We know there's a stereotype and a stigma on who it affects and so highlighting my mom, who was an established as a Mercy worker employee and owned her own home, it broke down the stigma and it shows it can happen to anyone," Lowery said.
Lowery was 9 years old when the incident happened.
She said her family and grandma guided her through the grief and helped her on the road to healing.
Lowery said she also heard about the prosecutor on the case who advocated for her mom.
"Seeing a difference, he made, and I never met him, I wanted to be that person for someone else," Lowery said.
The vivid memory of her mom's spirit lives within her to help others.
"I worked in a shelter previously and a struggle that we always had was emergency housing. When we look at why people aren't leaving, they don't have anywhere to go," Lowery added. "We saw there were a lack of services in Jefferson County, and we thought how we could help people in a similar situation."
Besides education and prevention work, the organization just launched an emergency housing program.
In Jefferson County, there's one domestic violence shelter and Lowery knows it can get full at times. That's where the foundation comes in.
The organization will be able to able to connect survivors with more than 10,000 hotels through Reloshare. These hotels can be used for a week-long stay.
"What you do is put in a zip code and it filters it out based on if we need to use an alias and it's at no cost," Lowery added. "People say why don’t you stay with family, well ... the abuser knows where that family lives, so putting someone in a hotel in a different area, you’re giving them confidentiality."
This also allows children and pets to stay there, which can be a limitation at some shelters.
The foundation is able to do this with the help of Safe Connections.
"We're kind of a third party to help the client connect with the resource. We have a 24-hour crisis helpline, so any clients who may need to get this service can call our line," Brigid Welch, director of crisis intervention at Safe Connections, said.
It's a way to fill a gap and create a safe space through emergency housing.
"They will save lives simply put," Welch added.
Lowery hopes these temporary homes can uplift others, just like her mother would.
"I think it's a prime example tragedy can happen and bad things happen and we can help other people. At the core, my mom was that she cared about people and I hope that will be brought through this," Lowery said.
If you or anyone you know needs information about this emergency housing program, you can contact the Safe Connections helpline at 314-531-2003.
For more information on how to donate to The Mary Daniels Foundation or ways to get involved, click here.
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