By Wiley Henry
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final installment of a two-part series about a woman who was able to harness her addiction and begin life anew.
MEMPHIS, TN — In all her 62 years, Meishal Berniece Henry had never owned anything with her name on it, such as a driver’s license, automobile, insurance, and a home. The one she once lived in bore her ex-husband’s name.
That’s because Henry was battling alcohol and drug addiction for 35 years and succumbed to the powerful lure. She couldn’t shake it, nor could she eradicate it. Not on her own.
Then she met Wanda Taylor-Wilson, founder and CEO of Ladies in Need Can Survive, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) transitional home in the Frayser community for women grappling with substance abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence.
Henry met the criteria for admission to LINCS and spent 18 months of intense therapy, including a four-phase approach to reshape her life. Now she has a driver’s license, automobile, insurance, and her own home.
“I just feel so blessed and grateful to God that He loved me enough to give me time to see the person that He truly wanted me to be,” Henry resounded.
Alcohol and drugs had robbed her of happiness, including her children, education, friends, and her self-worth. She had sunk to the depths of despair and found it difficult to free herself from the clutches of alcohol and drugs.
“I wasn’t mentally stable,” Henry admitted. “I realized that I blamed myself and thought I was a bad person for a long time. But I realized that I was sicker than I ever could have dreamed I was.”
After coming onboard LINCS, Henry needed not worry. Taylor-Wilson is used to women whose travails are overwhelming and difficult to overcome without intervention. What she had done for others at LINCS, she would do for Henry as well.
But before Henry was admitted into the program, “she said to me, ‘Ms. Wanda, if you allow me in your program, I won’t give you any problems.’ Then she said, ‘Ms. Wanda, is there any hope for me?’”
Taylor-Wilson responded with forthrightness. The women in her charge had been reduced to hopelessness prior to coming to LINCS, but they were hopeful that their lives would be transformed afterward, she said.
“She wasn’t in a good place at 61 [when she came to LINCS],” said Taylor-Wilson, speaking of Henry, one of the oldest residents to be admitted into the LINCS program. “She said, ‘What can I really accomplish in life at 61 years old?’”
Taylor-Wilson began with an Individual Service Plan for Henry. “This gives me the opportunity to guide women in the right direction,” she said, “and provide them with the skill set to obtain, sustain, and maintain them after they complete the program.”
After an ISP is completed, she said, the process of transitioning troubled women back into society begins. Henry was now set to begin the arduous journey to sobriety and freedom from drugs. But transitioning her back into society would take 18 months.
“Our program is only 12 months,” Taylor-Wilson pointed out. “But depending on the individual need, we can make some adjustments and extend the program for them.”
She said Henry needed more time to begin the process of saving money, improving her credit score, purchasing a home, transportation, and other necessities before transitioning to her own place.
The four phases that Henry had to complete included a wide range of classes and therapy once a week, in addition to shifting her thinking of woeful thoughts and her relationship with God.
“We provide them with case management, domestic violence education,” said Taylor-Wilson, “and classes like anger management, life skills, parenting, job readiness, financial literacy, and education assistance.”
And then there is the alcohol and drug intense outpatient program. “This helps them to understand the addiction,” Taylor-Wilson explained, “and how to live life without the addiction.”
Henry’s transition back into society is now complete. “I feel amazing! I am happy!” she exulted.
“I got her to the finish line,” said Taylor-Wilson, adding, “I’m the proudest CEO on this side of heaven, knowing that I was able to contribute something to help another woman turn her life completely around.”
For more information about Ladies in Need Can Survive, Inc., or to make a monetary donation, visit the website at www.ladiescan.org. Or contact Wanda Taylor-Wilson at 901-351-9864 or by email at ladiescan@yahoo.com.
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