Six months ago, a 22-year old pregnant
mother of two was just a room away from a life on the street.
Today, Rachel James' life is reborn.
One of eight graduates Friday from the Homespace Corp., Ms. James
has traded her room at the Salvation Army for a professional wardrobe
and a plan to attend Buffalo State College with her eyes on a future
as a child psychologist.
"I'll be able to go out now and actually experience what life
is all about," Ms. James said........
Ms. James, like here fellow graduates from the Homespace Corp.,
was provided with a place to live and trained in self-sufficiency.
It's what the organization has been doing in its four-year operation
at 1030 Ellicott St.
Featured in The New's Neediest Fund just a month ago, Ms. James
looks ahead to embarking on a new venture this April - she will leave
the Ellicott Street complex but will take with her all of the values
she learned there and ambitions she cultivated.
"If I can just tell someone else in my situation who doesn't
know about Homespace - they can teach you everything," Ms. James
said.
That support has turned her life around, she said, and its effects
are certain to make life better for her 4-year-old son, Jonathan,
and two daughters, Brooklynn, 11/2, and newborn Megan.
The mission of Homespace Corp. - reducing homelessness by providing
transitional housing and support services to young single-parent
families, like Ms. James - was evident during the graduation ceremony
Friday. The smiles, and at times, damp eyes, seemed to say it all.
"I have to admit none of this would have happened..." struggled
graduate Joy Lehman before being reduced to tears.
"... if I had never come here," finished Thelma Roberts,
executive director of Homespace, on Ms. Lehman's behalf. "It
was a memorable and important step in helping me achieve my long-term
goals," Ms. Lehman was able to add.
Ms. Lehman entered Homespace in June 1997 and stayed for a year.
She combined the parenting, health care and vocational training offered
there with an Erie Community College education and an internship
at Health Care Plan to earn a position in the business office at
Mercy Hospital.
Graduation
Some of the other graduates - Zena Bliss, Junine Johnson,
Ebony Jones, Jolean Powell, Angela Thomas, and Champagne Woods -
now also have their own goals that range from furthering their education
to starting a business.
"We tend to take things for granted." said Council Member
Barbara Miller-Williams of the Ellicott District, who attended he
graduation. "This is a very small program, but it reaches out
to very big hearts." |
