By Stacy Gilliam, Special to AOL Black Voices
LaTarsha Williams
LaTarsha Williams
In 2004, LaTarsha Williams left her husband with her six children. They lived in motels and, when they ran out of money, had to sleep in their car.
A few years ago, LaTarsha Williams, 33, found herself at a dire crossroads. She could stay in an abusive relationship with her husband or leave for a better life with her six kids.
A tough call to make, Williams, who was married for just five years, tried to make a go of it on her own with help from public assistance. She faced a major challenge -- the local shelters were packed, leaving her back where she started. But she returned home with a vision. Williams pledged to open up a place for the homeless. With no structure in place, she called it the Omega House, founded it in 2003 and gave it non-profit status in 2004.
Then, the unthinkable occurred. In September 2004, after years of emotional scarring, Williams left her husband for good and temporarily had no place to call home.
"I gave up on my life," says Williams, born and bred in Atlanta "Before I knew it, I was living with relatives."
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But that didn't last long. Unstable relationships with her family forced her to move out and seek refuge in motels. When the money for motels ran out, she and the kids, who now range in age from 3 to 16, slept in her car.
"A lot of people think the homeless are on drugs or are alcoholics," says Williams, owner of owner of Lady Contractor, a contracting company that handles landscaping, cleaning, painting and other services. "But a lot of things can happen -- divorce, job loss, abusive relationships."
Williams with her kids struggled through the hardest eight months of their lives. Her older kids felt angry and humiliated by the situation. Their grades suffered in school. But through her spiritual faith, Williams refused to give up. After brief time away from the contracting business she started three years ago, Williams jumped back in the saddle. "I made a vow and I built my clientele back up," she says. "I started to empower myself. Slowly, God put people in my life to help me with a house."
Now, Williams and her clan are off to an encouraging start. She's been renting a house since the spring. With a roof over their heads this winter, a now-divorced Williams can focus on her earlier vision to aid the homeless. Her Omega House is slated to be a transitional home for women and children for 6 – 12 months. Clients will attend an eight-step Virtuous Women program to restore their self-esteem, and workshops to help them with job-readiness skills, employment assistance, GED prep, and counseling.
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According to a local shelter in Atlanta, the Omega House is needed now.
"Shelters [in Atlanta] stay pretty full," says David Jones, spokesperson for Atlanta Union Mission, a transitional shelter, which houses 136 women and children. "The majority are focused on men because historically, homelessness was seen as a men's issue." A 2003 Homeless Census and Survey conducted by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta states that nearly 7,000 homeless were found on the streets, in shelters or transitional or permanent housing situations.
Williams can empathize with them all, and hopes to save lives and families with the Omega House. Since November, she and her supporters have been fundraising to help finance a property. In February, she'll hold a Valentine’s Day event for homeless women, widows and elderly women to help raise money. She's interested in rehabbing a house and have doors open for clients in the spring of 2006.
"As long as I can wake up everyday, I'm fighting for that vision," Williams says. “I'm excited that God hasn’t forgotten about me when everybody else did."
For more information about the Omega House, contact LaTarsha Williams at 678-598-6943.
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About the Author
Stacy Gilliam is a freelance writer based in Washington, DC. Please send your 'Good News' ideas to her at sgilliam1@hotmail.com
2005-12-21 14:15:00
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