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The strength of any community lies in the heart, spirit and caring
of individuals who live within it. Good communities have exceptionally
good people who share deeply of themselves for the sake of others,
and that sharing never should go unnoticed. Each year, this newspaper
chooses a few members of the community who have made exceptional contributions
to the common good, and honors them as Buffalo News Outstanding Citizens.
Thelma Roberts is retiring as executive director of Homespace, which
has provided transitional housing for the homeless and people in need.
Thelma Roberts has always had a heart for helping people, especially
young people.
"It was instilled in me," she said.
Roberts is the retiring executive director of Homespace, which provides
transitional housing for young, homeless families. Since 1997, she
has served more than 200 young mothers, 18 to 25 years old.
When she saw even younger, homeless teenage mothers were in need
of safe places to live, she spearheaded efforts to open Second Chance
Home in 2005. The Michigan Avenue building houses a group foster home
for single mothers between 14 and 17.
"I grew up in a family of 11 children, and I'm number eight," she
said. "It was part of our culture that when you find people who didn't
have family, you adopted them."
Roberts became executive director at Homespace in 1997. Prior to
that, she had careers in nursing and social work, but it's the culmination
of all the experiences that has helped her at Homespace.
"The joy of working with Homespace is the work experience I've been
able to use," she said. "It prepared me for understanding how the system
works and in helping parents understand they need to be involved with
their child's education."
The peak of her career at Homespace was getting the Second Chance
Home program up and running. The two-story brick building houses eight
families in their own bedrooms. On-site services include support groups,
educational seminars for parents, play groups for children, recreational
programs for families, training in money management and parenting skills,
and nutrition classes and case management.
"The project was a major undertaking. It was in response to a
need the community kept making us aware of," Roberts said. "It
is a chance to really give these ladies a new start." |
