BY MARCI LAEHR TENUTA
Journal Times | Posted: Friday, June 20, 2008 12:00 am
Patricia Robbins really needs a fresh start in life.
A survivor of domestic abuse, she has struggled for the past few years to try and put the pieces of herself back together.
Now, Robbins is being given a chance to look forward instead of back. The Racine Dream Team has selected her as the winner of their fourth annual makeover. The team is hoping to at least help Robbins start on a positive path.
"We would hope to erase some of the scars from the past, both emotional and physical," said Dr. Kim Kind-Bauer of Kind Dentistry, who founded the Racine Dream Team. "We want to raise her self esteem and try help give her a fresh start."
Robbins, 49, knows she has a hard road in front of her during the 12-week makeover. She will have a demanding schedule of physical training, counseling and appointments. But she is ready for it.
"I don't want to have to live in the shadow of this terrible past," she said. "I don't want to live my life like this, where I feel like I'm a victim."
Robbins is no longer with her abuser.
Their relationship, which lasted more than a decade, officially ended last year.
"I'm trying to start over," she said. "I'd like to be free from all this emotional pain and damage. It's a way of closure for me. I have some positive changes in my life."
Over the next few weeks, Robbins will have initial consultations with a physical trainer and nutrition specialist at Razor Sharp Fitness, and Eye Centers of Racine and Kenosha to evaluate if any vision correction or cosmetic eye surgery is possible.
She will meet with life coach Pamela Grant who will be providing counseling and support through the makeover. And later, she will receive treatments and services from Aspire Salon and Spa, Headlines Design Studio and Spa, and J&N Ultra Tan.
Robbins, who has worked at Racine Residential Care as an administrative assistant for 27 years, said her friends at work and her family are all very supportive of the changes she would like to make.
She knows it will be difficult, emotionally and physically, but she is up for the challenge.
"I'm scared and excited," Robbins said. "It's wonderful that something so good is coming out of something so bad."
She is most looking forward to the changes to her body and the dental work she will have done.
"I want to get in shape," Robbins said. "With the back problems I've had, I can learn how to (exercise) properly with a physical trainer."
Her body image and self esteem could also use the boost regular exercise can provide.
"He used to tell me how fat and ugly I was," Robbins said.
She said that is typical of domestic abusers, which is why she believes a makeover program like this is so beneficial.
"When you're in that kind of relationship, your self-esteem suffers so badly," she said. "They tell you you're nothing. I'd like to hold my head up and not feel fat and ugly."
That is precisely the reason the Racine Dream Team wanted to reach out to domestic abuse survivors, Kind-Bauer said.
After three years of makeover projects, the team was debating whether to hold another this year.
Instead of abandoning the community project, they decided they wanted to make a really big impact in the life of someone special.
"We wanted to target a select group of people that really, really needed to be uplifted," Kind-Bauer said.
They decided to offer the makeover to a victim of domestic abuse. After announcing the makeover and collecting applications, a panel of judges selected Robbins.
"When I called to tell her she had won, she could hardly speak," Kind-Bauer said. "She was the most excited out of any of our previous winners. It's going to be hard physically and emotionally, but she's got a pretty good outlook."
Robbins said she is putting the past behind her, refusing to be afraid, even though she is speaking out and going through the public makeover program.
"I hope that by doing this, other women will come forward and get out of their abusive relationships," she said. "Women shouldn't feel like they should hide. I hope they realize they don't have to stay in those kinds of situations."
The Racine Dream Team
The Journal Times will be following Racine Dream Team makeover winner Patricia Robbins throughout the 12-week program. We will document her successes and struggles, both emotional and physical, as she continues to pursue a fresh start for herself.
The makeover is a project started four years ago by a group of Racine professionals who wanted to transform the life of someone in the community, while also showcasing what services their businesses offered.
This year the makeover is being sponsored by Kind Dentistry, Razor Sharp Fitness, Eye Centers of Racine and Kenosha, Aspire Salon and Spa, Headlines Design Studio and Day Spa, life coach Pamela Grant, J&N Ultra Tan, Photography by Raylene, Charcoal Grill and Rotisserie and Image Management.
For more information on the makeover program, visit their Web site at http://www.RacineDreamTeam.com