BEATITUDE HOUSE Grad to help others turn lives around

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A few years ago Lelia Brady was a pregnant drug addict in an abusive relationship.
After being clean for more than three years and enrolling in Beatitude House's transitional housing program in Youngstown, she is the mother of a healthy 3-year-old daughter, working toward a bachelor's degree in social work at Youngstown State University and about to work with other women trying to get out of situations similar to the one she was in.
Brady will be the resident manager at House of Blessing in Warren, a transitional housing facility in the convent building at the former St. Joseph Hospital on Tod Avenue, operated by Beatitude House. An open house is set for noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at the newly renovated facility with a blessing ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
An additional walk-through will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. June 28.
The facility, which includes eight apartments, is expected to open in July.
When Brady learned she was pregnant, she signed up for a drug rehabilitation program and attended classes to learn to be a good parent.
"I wanted to break the cycle of abuse that I was in so my daughter would have a better life," Brady said.
Road to recovery
Physically, emotionally and sexually abused as a child, Brady believes she turned to a variety of drugs and alcohol because she couldn't face her past. In adulthood, she moved from one abusive relationship to another.
She learned about Beatitude House from one of the other women in her program, interviewed and was accepted. Participants must be drug-free for inclusion in the program.
"I wanted to be able to provide for my daughter," Brady said.
Women in the program receive counseling and support while attending post-secondary school or a job preparation program, said Teresa Boyce, development, marketing and public relations specialist at Beatitude House. The programs provide homeless women with children a home for up to two years while helping them find jobs and housing. Boyce said many of the women come from abusive backgrounds.
Expansion into Warren
Trumbull County Housing Collaborative approached Beatitude House in 2000 to duplicate its programs in Warren. Humility of Mary Health Partners donated the building. Warren-Trumbull HOME Consortium, a partnership between the city's community development department and Trumbull County Planning Commission, paid for the renovation and helped secure operating funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Furniture and supplies at the facility have been donated.
Beatitude House also runs the Potter's Wheel program at First Presbyterian Church, Mahoning Avenue, which offers job training and economic planning for disadvantaged women.
Brady, a native of the Warren-Niles area, is in her third semester at YSU and hopes to earn a master's degree in social work when she completes her bachelor's degree.
The only people from her past she keeps in touch with are her sisters.
"They're very proud of me," she said.
Helping with crises
As resident manager of the Warren facility, Brady will live in an apartment at the facility and assist the women if a crisis arises overnight.
Sister Patricia McNicholas, Beatitude House executive director and resident manager of the Youngstown facility, asked Brady to fill the new role.
"I cried," she said of her reaction.
The way Brady handled a situation while at the Youngstown facility made the sister approach Brady about the new resident manager post, Brady said.
"I'll be helping others with life experiences like mine," Brady said, wiping away tears. "All of the sisters and all of the staff at Beatitude House are just the most wonderful people I've ever met. I want to give back what was given to me."
dick@vindy.com