Its3rdand1

Homeless but Together...A Mother's Unwavering Love, Ms. Tianna Hicks

• Robert Robinson • Season 1 • Episode 6

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0:00 | 41:28

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be homeless? Have you ever questioned what it takes to overcome such adversity and create a life of giving back and making a difference? Tiana Hicks, mother of Najee Harris, shares her incredible journey in this episode. From her humble beginnings in the San Francisco Bay Area to the life-altering experience of homelessness, Tiana's story is one of resilience and strength. She opens up about her upbringing, the influence of her grandmother, and her own determination to provide for her five children.

We also explore the remarkable work Tiana does through her organization, Da Bigger Picture Nonprofit Foundation. The Foundation aims to address homelessness and hunger, issues close to her heart due to her lived experiences. Tiana’s commitment to her community is inspiring and sheds light on the often misunderstood and overlooked nuances of homelessness. This episode encourages a more empathetic understanding of the issue and offers a fresh perspective that can only come from someone who lived it.

In a more light-hearted segment, we delve into Tiana's personal life, getting to know her through her pet peeves, her memories of the rookie dinner, and the songs that soundtrack her life. This conversation with Tiana is more than just an interview; it’s a celebration of her journey, a testament to her strength, and an exploration of her ongoing mission to give back to her community. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and get ready to be inspired by the remarkable Tiana Hicks.

CONTACT/SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram - @5downimout
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tianna.hicks
Website - https://najee.net/

SPONSORS
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https://yinzerspegh.com/
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Host - Charlotte Heyward-Wesley
Producer - Millie Phaeton


Every Down Has a Story...


Speaker 1

I'd like to be away. My patience stay up.

Speaker 2

I feel so outdated. How can we look the other way? Sun is out, but the sky is grey. What would happen if I took a chance? It's always hard after it's clear. I don't wanna, but I know I gotta do it. The truth is hard to swallow, I think.

Speaker 1

I'll chew it.

Speaker 2

Hello and welcome to it's Third in One. I am so excited about my guest today. She is a very special lady and when I first met her I immediately knew she was real. She was down to earth and she just brings a glow about herself. I'd like to welcome Tiana Hicks to it's Third in One. How are you, tiana? Hi good morning Shar. Tiana is Najee Harris' mom, and we have gotten the pleasure to know one another and now consider you a friend. So it's a big difference from San Francisco to Pittsburgh.

Speaker 1

Huge difference. Pittsburgh is great. I love Pittsburgh. I was just there for the past two months before I moved into my house now and I told Sun I was getting comfortable. I don't know if I wanted to go back. I'm taking care of it. I'm at my son's house. I can do what I want. I was just great, but I had to get back so that I can take care of things here. Pittsburgh is great. The people are great. The city is beautiful Love it.

Speaker 2

You are from the Bay Area originally.

Speaker 1

I was born in San Francisco, california. I was raised in a large household so I had a big family around us all the time. My grandmother, who was like the pillar of our household, was involved in community services in our neighborhood growing up, so I learned about taking care of others, helping others. My grandmother ran a food bank, she ran a community senior center and she ran an in-home daycare center for working parents in our neighborhood. I always learned how to give back and help others. I think that's kind of a shape and molded me into the person that I am today.

Speaker 2

Wow, there were five of you growing up. Were you the only girl?

Speaker 1

I have two brothers and two younger sisters, and then I have another sister from my father on my father's side. So I have three sisters and two brothers.

Speaker 2

And how many children do you have?

Speaker 1

I have five children and three grandchildren.

Speaker 2

Oh, and two grand puppies.

Speaker 1

Grand puppies, yeah, I have grand puppies and grandkids. Yeah, because I can't leave them out. My daughter will not leave them out.

Speaker 2

Growing up, what did you use to do to keep you busy or a hobby? I think you were an athlete growing up.

Speaker 1

Yeah, awesome, oh my God. Yes, I started running track like young age I want to say elementary school because my mother she kept us involved in like the community programs. My grandmother worked with Park and Rec and so we were always involved in community program and so growing up I got introduced to track as just something to do during the summer. I love it so much. I just kept going for it kept running year after year until I got into high school where I found my love for basketball. I started playing basketball for JB and our varsity team at the same time, running track for years of our whole time in high school.

Speaker 1

Wow, my sport, my choice was what I like to do was the high jump, long jump, triple jump in the Maori lay, and I was Maori lay anchor legs. So you know, yes, I was like you have to love track to do track. You have to love track to do because it's not the same as sitting down and watching a football game or a basketball game. You really have to love you some track. It's a lot of sitting and waiting for your time to get up, yeah, and it's practice is a lot of hard work.

Speaker 2

My daughter ran track. Yeah, it's so much work Every day. You have to be disciplined and it's yeah, every day.

Speaker 1

I used to train twice a day in the morning before I went to school because I just loved it so much and I had goals and aspirations of going to the Olympics, like that was. My dream was to go to the Olympics and run track. I wanted to be Flo Joe. Like Flo Joe was my thing when I grew up, so I loved me some Flo Joe.

Speaker 2

I guess we can say now she got a lot of his athletic ability from his mom.

Speaker 1

Yes, I guess you can say that his dad did play football too, in his younger years as well. Okay, but before I still run to this day you may see me in a 5K. I get out and do the 5Ks around the city and just have fun with it. So, yeah, I think it's in our family. We just love it. We love that. That's Get that work in.

Speaker 2

That's exactly what you do, that's good, we'll have to do a 5K and Pittsburgh together. How did sports affect your family once you started having kids? Was it hard to get them into sports or was it something that you use like your grandmother did? Have you guys go to park and wreck? Did they go to park and wreck as well?

Speaker 1

They did go to Park and Rec but, however, the after-school programs for my kid was like a daycare thing. Because of the challenges that we had. I was raising my kids, I needed a safe place for them to be after they got out of school until I was able to come pick them up from work. So it started with the Park and Recs After you get out of school. You go there, you can do homework, there's someone supervising there watching out for them. And then they introduced me to football for the kids.

Speaker 1

And it's very pricey to have to pay for the kids to go to a type of program, so I couldn't afford it. So I had to think about that, like how can I get my kids into these programs? Because I didn't want, despite our situation, I wanted them to kind of have some sense of normalcy in their life, and so these after-school programs kind of put that place there and they put these role models in front of them to show them like mentors. I want to say. Football came along as a way of discipline for some of them, but then also a way to keep them in a safe place after school.

Speaker 1

And I ended up getting scholarships because I couldn't afford it. So I did get scholarships for the kids to go, because I have five kids and I put all five of them on one team. I had a child on each league and my daughter was a cheerleader because I had four boys and one girl and so we were at the football fields on Saturday Pee Wee Leagues from 6 am to 6 pm, because I had a kid on each team and so we just had to hang out there all day. But that's how we started with the kids and sports and things.

Speaker 2

I'd like to thank our sponsor, jensers, and Pittsburgh. If you're a Pittsburgh sports fan like me, and you're always looking for the perfect jersey, unique gift or something for the next game, jensers is the place to shop. You see, with their great staff and amazing inventory, not only will you leave with something special, you'll leave with a memory. Jensers, it's not just a store, it's an experience. Check out our show notes for the it's Third in One promotion. Sports is always a great outlet, but you mentioned that you have had some challenges in life. The podcast is about challenges, your third and ones. So if you think back, what is a third and one that you can feel might resonate with somebody else that you've gone through, or a challenge that you've had that you look back and say, wow, I made it, I got through this, I pushed forward. What would you say is a major third and one for you?

Speaker 1

So our major third and one challenge was having to raise all five of my kids through homelessness, with a partner who had suffered from drug, alcohol and mental health issues, and we kind of lived like that for, I want to say, close to 20 years.

Speaker 1

I really didn't know if I would even ever be able to come out of that situation.

Speaker 1

We had to sleep in shelters, we slept in our kitchen, we had to sleep in shelters, we slept in our cars family and friends, of course, but yeah, it was one of the hardest times in my life If I couldn't, didn't have a car or if I didn't have a way around and we were walking like it was like that for us.

Speaker 1

I did what I had to do to take care of my kids and it was by any means necessary, Even if I had to walk with pounds of food on my back up and down the street just to feed my kids for that week, because I was in between working and dealing with the situation, moving from place to place. So I had to do a lot of things to keep my kids focused, want to say, and keep them on track and keep them motivated so that they can continue on. I didn't want my situation, that we were going to through define my kids' futures and what was going to happen with them, and so my whole challenge in through those 20 years was keeping those kids motivated, keeping them know that school is a number one priority and we're going to get up and take care of our business every day, no matter what you are amazing.

Speaker 2

I hope you realize that you were the one stable thing they could probably count on through all the instability they had. Their mom Just listening to you talk about it, I can't even imagine. I mean, having several kids is hard enough, right, but to keep them together, to keep them focused, I mean you were worrying about feeding them, you were worried about keeping a shelter over their heads. You're amazing and I hope you know that inside.

Speaker 1

I feel like, yeah, you know, I do look back at that time because I feel like I was such a strong person to keep going and I didn't give up on myself or my kids that I questioned why did I even keep going through that? But then I do say that God had a plan for everything, and so I had to walk with Bepps to get to a certain place, and I know that God was there with me the whole time, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Navigating Life's Challenges and Giving Back

Speaker 2

I'm glad you look at it that way, because there is no parent that is perfect. We have all made mistakes, you know, why did we stay in a relationship? Why did we get in a certain relationship? Hey, I can raise my hand on that one. There are so many times we say we should have, could have. But, like you said, there's a plan and God has a plan for us, and sometimes we have to learn from mistakes. Sometimes we have to go through those obstacles to appreciate life later on and to be able to teach our kids. Don't do what I did or have a testimony for somebody else. I hope that you realize your journey was all for a reason. When you look back, can you look at it? Were you on the offensive side of the ball, or were you on the defensive side of the ball? Or maybe both?

Speaker 1

Yeah, so that's what I was looking to when I looked at that question. I was trying to figure out where was I on the ball side of the ball. And I was on both sides of the ball. I had to keep gaining yardage, as you said. That was a great way to put it, because I had no time to stop and sit back and go backward. So it was always pushing forward, always trying to gain those next yardage to get to that next set of downs. And then when I did get to those next set of downs, that's when I can go on the offensive or is it the deep effort. I forgot which way it was. But I can go the other way and sit down and kind of reset and then figure out what my next game plan was going to be, where we're going to be, how we were going to tackle it, and then start back all over again on those next set of downs. So I feel like I was on both sides. I had to navigate both sides.

Speaker 2

That's a great way to look at it because Probably on every situation we're both on, we're all on both sides of the ball. If we can realize that, that we have the opportunity to try to move forward, and then we're on defense, let's figure out how we can reset, yes, and get off the field. When you had your reset, what did that look like for you? Was that finally finding a stable residence? What was the point where you felt like I can reset now, during that time?

Speaker 1

Honestly, it was when I left the entire situation. I left it basically leaving my partner, which was a big one to put hindrance, a big problem for me to move forward with my kids. Once I did let that go, then I was able to see a little bit more clear. I didn't have that to worry about. I can focus more on my kids. And then I started stabilizing myself. I realized that after I let that go I was able to start stabilizing myself, even if it meant we were in our car Still. I was still in my car for a minute, still in and out of people's houses for a moment, until I was able to finally secure some permanent housing. But once I did get out of that, then I was able to move forward and really get going on that piece of mind that I was looking for all those years.

Speaker 2

You were able to get on that path of clarity.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, I can see a little bit clearer of what I needed to do. Then you started opening up. Then you started opening up, but then my eyes started opening.

Speaker 2

It's hard because when you're in the midst of something, you can't realize how cloudy it is until that cloud moves on and you can see some daylight Right.

Speaker 1

It was getting out of that situation and then seeing that it could get better. It may not be like my neighbors or my friends at work, but it'll be better and it was. Now I'm looking at everything, just thanking God for man stepping being by my side through all of that, because if it was not for my faith I learned that I had such a strong faith If it wasn't for my faith, I don't know where we would have been. I really don't.

Speaker 2

I hear you, amen, you guys have a foundation. Yes, can you tell us a little bit about what your foundation does? Because if you hadn't been on your journey, this foundation wouldn't be here.

Nonprofit Foundation and Community Support

Speaker 1

What was funny? Is that not funny, but one of the things that I did do with my kids. Through that homelessness and living that life that we lived, I had instilled in them the fact that you still have to give back to others Because it does something for you and your soul. I feel like it does something for you. It teaches you something in life. And so while we were homeless, living in shelters, I had my kids volunteering. We were volunteering at Christmas drives. We needed the toys to give to my kids, but then at the same time, we were behind the table handing out the toys and treats to the other kids too, just so they can see that, yeah, we needed so do they, and we can help just them the same way they help us, even if it's just standing here, smiling and, you know, saying Merry Christmas or something like that. We volunteered at Special Olympics. I used to take them to do that because that was just fun to be around folks and just have a good time and teach them the same thing. Like I said, teach them about giving back to others, no matter who, what, where or the circumstances.

Speaker 1

So my foundation, which my son started and I just wanted to start this foundation, which I was like it's just like you decided to do this, something that our family's been doing forever, and then my son decides that he wants to continue this with his foundation. So we are called the Bigger Picture Nonprofit Foundation. We focus on addressing homelessness and hunger and teaching families and children life skills through our sports programs, and we want to continue to build up the program and expand and be able to offer more assistance in the community. Right now we're attacking all communities everywhere, so we've been in Mexico, we've Pittsburgh and California, and this week this month actually I'll be opening our food bank and family resource center at his high school. We're trying to figure out the name, what we want to call it, but it's going to have the bigger picture in there.

Speaker 1

But today, after I speak with you, we're headed over to check out our site. They gave Annie up high school. Nadia's high school gave him an entire room to make this vision come true, so I'm headed out there today. We're going to have a grand opening soon. It's going to be great. I'm excited to be able to get in our community and just do this work.

Speaker 2

That is awesome. Do you feel like these seeds were planted in you by your grandmother and all her work in the community? Yes, ma'am, but she showed you and then you passed us on to your children.

Speaker 1

Oh, it's such a trickle forward effect. It's my grandmother who had the daycare center, the senior center and her food bank. My mother is a pastor who administers to women coming out the streets Tree of Life Ministry. She does her own food bank and so now, fast forward, it's my turn and then my son's turn, and so it's like it wasn't planned that way. But that's that plan that God has.

Speaker 2

Good luck on your grand opening of your new location at the high school. I love when athletes are giving back because they are blessed in so many ways.

Speaker 1

My son did this also because while we were in transition, while he was in high school, the guy at his high school came to us and brought us food while we were in the hotel, brought us vitamins while we were in the hotel, gave us bus vouchers so my kids can keep going to school. They were just so supportive. So I said this is where I want to do this, and I want to mimic everything that you guys did for me, because you have no idea how much that little bit of help gave me the inspiration to keep on going, and so I want to do that back at his high school. There are so many families in our neighborhood that live in hotels that meet that help, and so I'm so excited that once we get out there, I'm going to tackle that just the same way as those guys did me, because I know that that was. It just made things just that much easier.

Speaker 2

I'm so glad you shared that. My kids went to Hapishree Ridge High School. There is a hotel that a lot of families live in that I see most of the population at their high school. They don't know where these kids live Nobody knew.

Speaker 1

You know that was hard for the kids. They didn't want nobody to know that that's what they were and I tried my best to you know, hide that. But you know I did the best I could and so you know, I'm glad that. I'm glad that my children you know it could have been worse and I'm so glad that they are the productive human beings that they are today.

Speaker 2

I'm glad that I'm here in Georgia. The football coaches reached out to me because we have our foundation and we do a lot for their high school here. They said you would be surprised of the little things that they need. When I met with the mom, she had four kids and they were in one room and she couldn't go to a shelter because her oldest son needs mental health care, so because he's a male and he was over 21, they couldn't stay in a shelter altogether. That was a challenge for her. She had to find hotels and work.

Speaker 1

That song reminds me of my situation. I have five kids, four boys and one girl and we were put in that same situation where my kids were boys and they were under 18, but they were trying to put them in the men's shelter because they were boys, which was supposed to be attached to the shelter I was in. But who would want their children to go live or sleep on another side with a bunch of other men and they're underage? So we did that. I had to say that's when the cars came into place, even in my car, because I'm not gonna separate my kids. So I totally understand. It's try to offer alternate solutions for families like that, because I don't think that you should put families in a position where they have to choose the safety of their kids for a night to sleep.

Speaker 2

I didn't know those challenges until I met that family, so I'm sure a lot of other people don't know that they should be able to all be together.

Speaker 1

And it's how they're trying to prize in situas. So why do you want to do that? Make it worse on her.

Speaker 2

Thank you for pushing forward and raising your kids us having nausea, so let's lighten it up a little bit. Right, I have a few quirks. Tell me what's a quirk of yours that you could share with everybody.

Speaker 1

So, like my quirk is the weird one, I pick my lip and it's like it depends on the situation, circumstances. It could be for no reason at all. It could be because I'm thinking it could be just because I'm just, but I'll pick my lip sometimes until it may bleed Not good. So I try to put on chapstick and lipstick and everything to prevent me from doing that. But that is like yeah, your lips look beautiful now.

Pet Peeves, Songs, and Future Goals

Speaker 2

So you know, look at the glasses, you get scrubs. And what's one of your pet peeves?

Speaker 1

My biggest pet peeve is finding a dirty Qtip. It, it, it. It used me, irks me so bad to the core, like, like when I had my children were younger and you know you get Qtips at cleaning kids ears. And then when I started finding them in random places that they shouldn't have been and I'm getting grossed out, I just said you know, we are never buying Qtips ever again. I stopped by on YouTube, told him that he's a towel and washed her ears out cause I just can't stand the sight of her during the YouTube. I'm sorry, that's funny, so does. But yeah, I was like y'all. I cannot, I'm sorry.

Speaker 2

Well, when we met we met at the rookie dinner Right, we had to choose our songs. I wasn't a rookie mom, but I was there to welcome you guys and speak with the parents and the mothers there. I remembered you had a song, do you?

Speaker 1

remember the song you sang?

Speaker 2

I sure did, cause that was my theme song, the whole year, okay, but I need you to give me a little bit of that right now. Can you do that? Okay, my favorite part, cause you know, get the words.

Speaker 1

So okay, my favorite part was it was Lizzo, about damn time. And my favorite part was in a minute I'm gonna need a cinnamon old man or woman to pump me up, feeling fussy walking in my Balenciase trying to bring out the fabulous.

Speaker 2

I love it. I was. I didn't see that song on your favorite playlist.

Speaker 1

I know cause? I played that out, girl. I swear I played that out all year. If you went to my Facebook page, you'll see me doing show. I was at her concert live streaming, myself singing.

Speaker 2

I saw that you just sent that in the group text. Yeah, I was like okay, I see too Okay.

Speaker 1

So there's a new song out this year, so I got a new song. I don't know how long it's gonna last, but it's because the little song is that water and it's a little winding your way song and so I feel like right now I'm feeling like I can wind my way, but you know, and now you live by water, so I'm moving by the water. So my lightweight island girl dreams have come true.

Speaker 2

That is great. So let's go through your playlist. Put your first song down, one by Mary Mary that is on my playlist too. That's my song.

Speaker 1

That's every morning. I have like my get up and go playlist and her song is that's one of my first ones in there, because it's so motivational to me, everything she says. You know, off bell down, I made mistakes but I had to keep getting back up and keep moving forward, keep walking. So I walk around this one. I say that I'm walking around my. You know I'm strutting around my, my kitchen yeah, walking.

Speaker 2

The Walking by Mary Mary is a great song. It's a motivational song. Just the whole vibe of the song. I mean you can't stay still.

Speaker 1

You can't stay. I saw I'm walking around in my living room when that song was on.

Speaker 2

And you're just feeling positive. Right, yeah, okay, that's a great one. What's your next?

Speaker 1

one. Okay. So Chance the Rapper, good Ass Intro is the name of the song and that song is real. It's kind of sentimental to me now because I was sick more like the sickest time I ever been in my life. It was during the beginning of the pandemic, so I didn't know if I had what was going on and we didn't know what was happening with the pandemic, like it was when it just started and everybody just figured out this was COVID.

Speaker 1

I got extremely sick and I was in the hospital for a week and Najee came up in there and he tried to make me feel good and he played this song and it caught me because I like Chance the Rapper, but it caught me because I'm like he's trying to make me feel good and it's ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm good and I just started. You know, only thing I could do with my little sick self was just this and I did this the whole time and I was like and he recorded it for me and played it back to me and I don't know why, like I go back to that song to think of that moment and he was like I don't know, I just meant something to me. That song there, yeah, but it played. And it brings me back to that moment just saying that my boy was there. He rushed from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham. I was in Alabama by myself, sick, and he came and just didn't know what to do, and so he's playing this song and he's like mom, listen, you know.

Speaker 2

Every time I listen to that song I'm gonna think about that.

Speaker 1

It is, yeah, I do, and I play it every now and then just to have that memory brought back. I don't know why that memory is so special to me.

Speaker 2

Good song, so switch gears. What's your next song?

Speaker 1

Ooh, what did I have? I had Kanye West Sunday Service Choir every hour, and that's just because I think about God every hour, every hour, every hour, and so that's my song. It's just the way I feel about God. I play that. That's in my playlist every day too, with Mary, mary and a couple other songs.

Speaker 2

That's another good choice. That is another song that's uplifting. Make your body move All right. After every hour, what is?

Speaker 1

Bitty McLean, walk Away From Love. And that's because I told you, I feel deep down in my soul that I belong to some tropical island and so I love me some Caribbean music, afro beats, I love that kind of music. So this song right there, walk Away it's an oldie, remade, but it's great. It's great. I recommend listening to it.

Speaker 2

It does. It has you swaying. I was listening to it and I was like, okay, are you bound in? Yeah, yeah, and I put it on my playlist. Really, yeah, and you just feel like you need a nice little pina colada or some kind of you know tropical drink, going on a palm tree behind you and some nice tropical you know weather sand. Yeah, it's on that mode.

Speaker 1

Yes, it's a topic because that's what I'm like. I'm living by the water, so I do play that on Saturdays loud enough for the folks to know. Island girls over here.

Speaker 2

And the water song is by Tyler right, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1

And I mean it's not an island song, I think it is an Afro beat song. But you know I call myself lightweight dancer, right, and so I think I can do that. Little Wines, your Waste challenge to that song. In my mind I do it right. I don't know how it looks, nobody's gonna see that, but I do feel like you know I could do. I like that song and that's my new song right now. Like Lizzo was my last year song right now. Waters, my Fall. Right now.

Speaker 2

Where do you see yourself five years from now? What would be something for Tiana that would bring you joy? I know you have joy given back. Is it seeing the foundation grow?

Speaker 1

I do have goals of seeing this foundation taken off. I think having our own shelter, you know that would be awesome, like we wanted to. Then, when he first got his contract, wanted to purchase the shelter that we lived in we had. I don't know if you knew that, but we did go back on his rookie season. I mean, when he got drafted, we did our draft party. One of them was at the shelter that we lived in and so he wanted to go back and purchase that shelter, but it's already bought by somebody else.

Speaker 1

So that's a goal of mine as well is to be able to help families out some kind of way other than just the resources that I can get from, you know, food banks and clothing banks. I want to actually try to stabilize families, help stabilize families. So that means like getting you into some temporary housing until you can figure out how to get your situation settled, to move into permanent housing. And then I also want to tackle one thing that I feel like I don't think is just for people that are going through homelessness situations.

Speaker 1

I don't feel that leaving evictions on people's names forever is the way to go when you're trying to establish housing for a family.

Speaker 1

I feel like if you paid your debt, then you should be able to have that erased from your record so that you can move on in life, because that one law where they leave an eviction on your name for seven plus years puts you in homelessness for seven plus years because nobody wants to rent to you because you have this eviction. Whether it's paid off or not, you have an eviction on your name that follows you. Whether you've paid that debt or not. Landlords and homeowners tell you that we're not going to rent to you because you had an eviction on your name. I know it's paid off, but we're not taking it, no matter what. So I don't think that that's fair to leave that title on a person, especially if they pay back their debt. That was the thing that kept me and my family in homelessness because, like I said, I had to do whatever I had to do at a certain point to keep my kids off the streets. So I don't think that's. One thing that I think I did want to do is something with the law.

Speaker 2

I didn't know that. I didn't know that it follows you for seven years and that that would hinder somebody to get into stable housing.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what steps to take as far as which way to go, because that's like I said, that would be a five year plan. It's trying to keep you with me, because this is written in law. If I can help someone else that's going through that, then, yeah, that would be great. That would be great because there are so many people that you get evicted. It happens, I get, that does happen.

Speaker 1

I lived in a hotel for a year to pay this debt off and put every last paycheck. I had to pay this debt off so that I can get the eviction off of my name, thinking that it would let me move into a home afterwards. And when I went to go look for a place after I paid the debt off, I would kept being told you had an eviction. You, yes, it's paid off, yes, it's zero balance, but it's on your credit, it's on your background check and we don't take evictions whatsoever. I was told that for so long that it just it left me where I was for 20 years and to the point to where I was doing things that made it even worse. As far as for myself, financially, I credit so where I couldn't move forward. But I had to because I had those kids.

Speaker 2

They have done studies where if people have an address and stable housing, how much it changes their life Right, just having stable housing. I know here in Georgia there's a program where they have given money to people who are homeless and said we're gonna pay your rent for like a year and those people are able to get jobs. It totally changes the whole trajectory of their lives. Yes, you know, stable housing is so important and having an address where you can get mail to.

Speaker 1

I was in a program just what you explained and then, after my year ended, I had to go get my own place. And then there's, my roadblock again was Wow. So I did that. I walked all those steps. I tried to do everything by the book. I even ended up getting section eight, which did stabilize me for a long time, but then, as I started working and making more money, section eight wasn't covering things, which put me back in the situation again as well. Now why do I have section eight? So let me go get my own place and then bow roadblock back in my way again.

Speaker 2

And some people are just one paycheck away from being homeless, because if you're paying bills week to week and something happens where you get sick or you get laid off, it's hard, and especially if you have children. Yes, people don't understand and they think that, oh, that person became homeless because they were irresponsible. No, that's not how it happens.

Speaker 1

No things happen. You should never. Nobody's my life is not gonna be like yours next door. I have to tell my kids that too, because they grew up and they see the next person why they don't have that. And my life is not gonna be like the person they throw and theirs is not like mine. You don't know what circumstances they go through and you don't know what I've gone through. But that doesn't mean that you have to hold me to this for the rest of my life. Like it's not fair. I mean, I know you say seven years, it falls off. Or if you have the money to go pay the legal system, which who has? Like I'm trying to raise, take care of kids and I'm homeless, how do I get the money together now to go pay a court fee to get this off of my name? It just I just couldn't do it.

Speaker 2

Yeah, so Well, I'm glad you shared that, because there are so many people that can't see the other side and they make judgments that they know nothing about. You are resilient, you are amazing, you are strong, you have a beautiful smile that Najee has as well, and I'm glad that we have met and become friends and that you have shared this with us. Now, if there's, can you tell us the website of the foundation? Yes, okay, thank you. People can also find you on social media.

Speaker 1

Okay, the website, I'm sorry. Our foundation is the bigger picture with the D, so it's DA bigger picture and we're at Najeenet and if you go onto our website you'll see some of the things that we've been doing, and then he also has some of his merch. We do have a lot of the things that we've done as far as the sports camps and some of the getting back opportunities that we've done are on there. And then you can find me at on Instagram at five down, I'm out. That name was because I had five kids. They all graduated. I'm like they've done, I'm out. So that's my Instagram page and then Tiana takes that Facebook.

Speaker 2

Okay, great. Can people make donations to the foundation on the website you?

Speaker 1

definitely can, and I'm gonna be rebapping that as well, so it may come down for a moment because I'm getting ready to change some information on there based off my new location. But yes, you can definitely go on there. You can donate through the site and find out more about us. Yes, you can donate at our website, which is Nadidat, and that there is a donation page there, as well as purchasing some merchandise, which 10% of the proceeds go to our foundation, and then they've got some pretty cool swag out there. I just looked at two extra. Some new stuff looks good.

Speaker 2

Okay, good, thank you for sharing that, and we do know how to be two, on Facebook and on Instagram, if they wanna get to meet you or bring you on to speak, because, yeah, you have a story to tell my lady.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Well, thank you, I just started real. I didn't realize actually until he did his recruitment, like going through his college recruitment. When we first talked about our I didn't talk about it. Actually my son talked about it. That kind of shocked me when he brought up how he lived and grew up, so I didn't know that he wanted that was something that they kept secret. And so when he brought it up and I realized how many people responded to the stories that got put out and how people said it helped them in some way or another just letting them know that they weren't alone and that there is hope and that you can still strive for, for your goals and reach your dreams all that I didn't realize how much that helped people. And so if I can continue to just speak about it and if that does something, I'm there for it on that, Good cause.

Speaker 2

that's the purpose of its third one. We've all gone through some different type of life challenges and if we can share that, you never know there's one person, two people, three people that can take something from this and help them get through their situation. So I know what you've said today will somebody else. They might share it with somebody else. They might send the podcast to somebody who's going through a tough time and say she made it with five kids. You can make it too. So thank you for coming and sharing your stories. I appreciate you.

Speaker 1

Thank you, sir. It was good to see you again. I hope to see you back out there in Pittsburgh. We gotta hook up.

Speaker 2

Okay, close it, shari Sherrville, for today. You don't know a person's story by the chapter you walked in on. So many people are quick to judge someone who is homeless. They think of them as less than without knowing the complexity of their situation. There are so many factors that can play a part in a family or a person becoming homeless. It could be domestic abuse, the loss of a job, an eviction on your credit report, or even someone just trying to keep their family together due to extenuating circumstances can contribute to that same family becoming homeless. Let's learn to judge less and love more.

Speaker 2

Thanks for joining me and my special guest this week on it's Third and One. Please make sure you follow them and stay connected with them on social media. I'm asking you to join me in spreading the word about it's Third and One. You can do so in two ways. Please subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen and leave a five star rating with a review. You can also follow us on social media at it's Third and One. That's spelled I-T-S-3-R-D-A-N-D-1. You can find us on Instagram, facebook, twitter and YouTube. There you can engage and leave questions and comments for us to see. I'll be right back here next week with another special guest to talk. A lot of life mixed in with a bit of sports. Please remember every down has history.

Speaker 1

I wish I knew.

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Charlotte Heyward Wesley

Host