“The Lisieux Community is a program for women who are making a transition from life on the street ---- drugs and prostitution ---- to learning how to live, how to cope, how to budget and manage money, how to clean, how to go grocery shopping --- that’s a big thing for them --- and just how to succeed. I’ve been the resident manager here since September. I like to see the smiles on the ladies’ faces, especially when they first enter the house, because they feel like they’re finally in a safe environment, a safe place they can call home instead of just being out there on the street somewhere.
“Getting them to open up can be hard sometimes because they’re not used to trusting people, they have a lot of fear, and they don’t want anyone mad at them. They’re used to being abandoned. Somehow they come in with the idea that if they speak their mind, they’ll get kicked out, so we have to work to get past that. It’s a wonderful thing when they get to the point where they feel comfortable coming and talking to me about what’s really going on with them, but building that trust and camaraderie can be challenging.
“They do a lot of laughing --- laughing is good for the soul --- but even when they cry, they’re getting all the things that have been bottled up inside of them for so long out in the open. They’re letting them go, and that’s a good thing too. I love to see that part of them because it helps them to grow.
“I want the women to stay here the two years they’re supposed to and then go out there and show life what it’s all about. I also want to see them come back and volunteer. There's a lot of potential in these women, especially in the ones who are here now. On family day, when their families come to visit, they see the growth in them. They see how well they’re doing and how they’re transforming into real ladies. I want to see the women who come here succeed.”
“Getting them to open up can be hard sometimes because they’re not used to trusting people, they have a lot of fear, and they don’t want anyone mad at them. They’re used to being abandoned. Somehow they come in with the idea that if they speak their mind, they’ll get kicked out, so we have to work to get past that. It’s a wonderful thing when they get to the point where they feel comfortable coming and talking to me about what’s really going on with them, but building that trust and camaraderie can be challenging.
“They do a lot of laughing --- laughing is good for the soul --- but even when they cry, they’re getting all the things that have been bottled up inside of them for so long out in the open. They’re letting them go, and that’s a good thing too. I love to see that part of them because it helps them to grow.
“I want the women to stay here the two years they’re supposed to and then go out there and show life what it’s all about. I also want to see them come back and volunteer. There's a lot of potential in these women, especially in the ones who are here now. On family day, when their families come to visit, they see the growth in them. They see how well they’re doing and how they’re transforming into real ladies. I want to see the women who come here succeed.”
Valerie Davis, Resident Manager
Lisieux Community on Facebook
See also the Connecting Memphis interview with Sandra Ferrell, Founder and Executive Director of the Lisieux Community
Lisieux Community on Facebook
See also the Connecting Memphis interview with Sandra Ferrell, Founder and Executive Director of the Lisieux Community
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