Abused student Jackie Turner advertises to 'rent' a family for the holidays

ALL Jackie Turner wants for Christmas is a family, and the US university student is advertising online in a heartbreaking attempt to rent one.

Jackie Turner rent a family

ALL Jackie Turner wants for Christmas is a family.

The 26-year-old US university student from a broken home posted an ad online looking to rent a caring family for the holidays, offering $8 an hour just to spend time with them.

"I am looking to rent a mom and dad who can give me attention and make me feel like the light of their life just for a couple of days because I really need it," said the heartbreaking note, which was posted on Craigslist.

Ms Turner, a straight-A student from California’s William Jessup University, told KXTV she had been physically, sexually and emotionally abused when she was a little girl.

She eventually fled to the streets, where she said she developed a drug habit and joined a gang.

Her turning point came in 2010 when she was arrested for grand theft and spent close to a year in prison, after which she enrolled in a religious camp for troubled teens. She's mow a model student and an avid community volunteer.

Despite her new lease on life, Ms Turner says there remains a deep void insider her that she thinks only a family can fill.

"My biological parents aren't here, and it's kept this hole inside of me," she said.

"I’ve never felt the touch of my mom hugging me and holding me. I don’t know what it’s like to look in my dad’s eyes and feel love instead of hatred."

Dozens of families responded to Ms Turner’s ad, offering to take her in for free, amid countless responses from other victims of abuse who have opened up to her about their own traumatic experiences.

She now plans to bring them all together during the holidays.

"When you speak up, people start learning that they’re not by themselves," she said, teary-eyed.

"Often we lock things inside of ourselves, like a lockbox of our secrets. But then you let one out and realise, 'I'm not by myself after all, am I?'"