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Mariellen P. Jacobs, BFA

ABI Family Peer Support Lead Liaison
Shepherd Center
Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Mariellen Jacobs is a longtime resident of Georgia and serves as the ABI Family Peer Support Lead Liaison at Shepherd Center in Atlanta. She and her husband Ron and have been married for 37 years and raised two children who are now living and working in the Atlanta area.

After assuming the role of primary caregiver for her son for 14 months post-inpatient at Shepherd, Mariellen becames passionate about the resources needed by caregivers and families as they navigate the path of brain injury and recovery. She remembered how it felt to search for understanding in a new world that had so many questions and so few answers. Mariellen recalled how everything changed for her and her family the first time they attended a Family Support Group led by Shepherd's family counselor. Surrounded by others who were navigating the same treacherous path, they finally felt understood; they had found that connection that exists between hurting human experiencing similar challenges.

In the months and years that followed her son's recovery, Mariellen returned often to Shepherd as a volunteer to share her family's journey with other families whose lives had just turned completely upside down. In 2019, Shepherd's Peer Support department offered her a position as a peer liaison, Mariellen joined the staff where she has the opportunity every day to assist other caregivers in finding their way through perhaps the most difficult days they will ever experience and share with them the necessary resources to transition home confidently and successfully.

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