Mother of domestic violence victim opens funeral home in Shelbyville

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – For more than a year, police told a mother her daughter’s death was a suicide.

NewsChannel 5’s Kim Rafferty met Jamie Dickerson in Shelbyvillein September when that story changed and a man confessed to her daughter’s death. Jamie said she hoped to provide support to others dealing with so much grief, and in a short time that hope became a reality.

Keys unlock the new Union Street funeral home and mark another step in Jamie Dickerson’s journey. The center opens on Sunday for anyone who needs a place to relax.

“Because grief affects you socially, mentally and physically, I hope that when they come in here, they leave here feeling better and can go to work with a better mindset,” Dickerson said.

In September, Metro Nashville police took the death of her daughter April Holt off the suicide watch list when Holt’s husband Donavan Holt confessed to her death.

It was hard for Jamie, who just knew Donavan had something to do with it.

“This is my connection to April, losing her and being in a place of peace, feeling like her presence is around me,” Dickerson said. “What Donavan has done, he has already done. He has been arrested, he does have charges and in my opinion I should move past that.”

In the month since, Dickerson worked hard to open a funeral home in Shelbyville. The rooms are filled with Christmas decorations and she is ready to open the doors on Sunday.

“There will be grief art therapy, there will be a youth game night for kids who are grieving,” Dickerson said. “We will have a book club that will help with healing, it will all be uplifting.”

When Dickerson looks at the space she has created to help her community heal, she knows her daughter April is close by.

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