From hopeless and homeless to hopeful and happy

By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- LaTanya Christian Williams earned a general education diploma, graduated from Choffin Career & amp; Technical Center as a licensed practical nurse and became director of care at Bryson Manor, a facility for 62 people who are mentally ill.
She will be the first to tell you none of that would have happened without the Beatitude House and its founder, the late Sister Margaret Scheetz, who died in 2001.
And she would also point out it didn't happen overnight.
"She told me what I needed to do. She was my heart ... and she kicked my butt," Williams said. "The program really worked for me. I was lucky to meet her at that time in my life."
In the early 1990s, Williams had no education or job; she was depressed and had low self-esteem. She and her children were living in crowded conditions at her grandmother's house, then ended up at the Rescue Mission.
"I was a reflection of my environment. I was bitter," she said.
That was then. This is now.
The 34-year-old woman will start nursing classes in January at Cuyahoga Community College to become a registered nurse. Now she speaks with confidence and self-assurance, has a positive outlook for the future, sets goals for herself and her children, and has a stable and loving home to call her own.
Breaking a destructive cycle
Williams said her life before the Beatitude House was one crisis after another. She thought living like that was normal; it was all she knew.
"It was living for the first of the month," she said.
She also knew she was repeating a cycle she wanted to break for herself and her children. In her family, one person did drugs and another was in prison. She had been in dysfunctional and hurtful relationships. She wanted out, and the Beatitude House provided the way.
"I was motivated in that respect. But I didn't know how to cope with day-to-day stuff," she said.
Williams said her family experience was "this is your life, accept it." As she began to change, she faced some problems with her family.
"We clashed in some ways. I take the good parts now. I like being settled and things being consistent ... without crisis," she said. "I love my mother ... my family," she said, but noted her viewpoint had changed.
"Sister Margaret taught me how to ask for help. She helped me realize I could turn things around. She helped give me a dream," Williams said.
At the Beatitude House, Williams said Sister Margaret was described as a leader, probation officer, friend, confidante, counselor, baby sitter, advocate and mother.
Learned valuable skills
After hearing about the Beatitude House program, Williams applied and was accepted. She and her children lived at A House of Blessing, a transitional home for homeless women and their youngsters.
In the education and career preparation program, Williams did more than attend school and get her LPN license. She learned life skills such as budgeting, parenting techniques and better ways to communicate.
For the first time in her life, she had a savings account and a driver's license, and was registered to vote.
In her frame of reference, it was commonplace not to have a job. "I'm the only one in my family who works," she said, and she is the only one to attend college.
Williams said the Beatitude House programs helped her with the practical elements of an education and where it could lead.
In many ways, the intangible things are the most important. "My children see me. They know what I have done," she said. The example speaks volumes to them.
Counseling helps
Williams said both formal and informal counseling at Beatitude House made a difference in her life. "I like counseling. I still go," she said. "It helped me figure out things about myself and what I needed. And it helped me move forward."
Now when she faces the unexpected or something goes wrong, she doesn't panic or let things get out of control. "I stop it before it escalates. I take time to figure out what to do, then do it," she said.
Once homeless and hopeless, Williams now is the proud owner of a Habitat for Humanity house, where she and her family have lived for three years.
She lives there with her children, Olivia, 15; Johnathan, 14; Symonne, 11; and Brandon, 10. She and her husband, Robert, will celebrate their second wedding anniversary Tuesday.
Williams also is making a change in the religious realm. She has visited a local Christian church where she said the people are friendly and welcoming and there are activities for her children. She is considering membership.