Tajuana
Clark fought as much as she could to stop the onslaught of verbal,
psychological and physical abuse for nearly half of her 8½ years of marriage.
After reaching the breaking point, she bolted with her six children and ended
up homeless on the streets of Memphis.
More than 11 years of marriage also
ended for Dione Pruitt, who was subjected to her husband’s cruelty of verbal,
psychological and physical abuse. She vamoosed with her five children, risking
it all. With nowhere to turn and no one to turn to, sleeping in the car was her
only recourse.
According to The National Intimate
Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report, about 1 in 4 women
(24.3 percent) and 1 in 7 men (13.8 percent) have experienced severe physical
violence by an intimate partner.
 |
| Tajuana Clark (seated), Dione Pruitt (left) and Wanda Taylor. (Photo: Wiley Henry) |
The survey also reported that nearly
half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological
aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (48.4 percent and 48.8
percent, respectively).
Count Clark and Pruitt among the
ranks. They were victimized by men purporting to love them, men with a
propensity for violence, the third leading cause of homelessness among
families. Their stories are similar and all too familiar. But then they found
solace and renewal at LINCS (Ladies In Need Can Survive).
With intense
training, they were able to turn their lives around.
From crisis to rehabilitation…
LINCS is a non-profit “home away
from home” in the Frayser community for women who have been psychologically and
physically abused, incarcerated, or struggling with poverty, substance abuse
and homelessness.
Since LINCS’ opening during the
summer of 2013, seven women have completed a structured, intensive training
program: Drug and Alcohol Intensive Outpatient Program, Counseling, Anger
Management, Domestic Violence Education, Parenting & Life Skills Coaching,
Job Readiness, Career and Financial Planning, Educational Guidance, the Health
and Wellness Program, First Aid/CPR and SIDS Training, and Housing Assistance.
“We can house four women at a time,
but I won’t leave a lady out because I can’t house them,” said Wanda Taylor,
LINCS’ CEO and executive director. If the facility is full, she continues to
extend a hand to feed other women or refers them to other facilities.
“Every woman who comes through the
door, I mentor them and provide services to get them back on track,” said
Taylor. “Other programs deal with the addiction. I deal with the core issue,
the root cause.”
Women in distress are referred to
LINCS by churches and a number of organizations, such as the YWCA, The
Salvation Army, Friends For Life, Serenity Recovery Centers, Inc., and Project
Homeless Connect Memphis.
Tajuana
Clark:
Failure
is not an option
“Being at the center taught me that
dreams do come true,” said Clark, who underwent a rigorous training program to
address her myriad problems. “I got into a good program so I wouldn’t be stuck
in bondage.”
Clark received counseling, went back to high school to get her
diploma, got a job, and then matriculated at National College in Memphis to
become a pharmacy technician. Then it was on to Tennessee Academy of
Cosmetology after National College closed its doors.
“My career goal is to be a nurse
practitioner,” said Clark, 30, who never thought any of her dreams would come
to fruition. “I felt like I had a learning disability, but I was encouraged
that it wasn’t too late for me.”
Once in school, Clark made good grades – A’s
and B’s. “I knew I had it, but I felt I’d taken too long to get my diploma.”
“Tajuana has completed the program
and has done exceptionally well since she’s been in school,” said Taylor. “Now
she has a positive outlook on life, no longer receives public assistance, and
was reunited with her children after finishing the program.”
As Clark recalls, “Ms. Wanda” was
trying to get the center open when they met.
“She stayed friends with me and
loved me where I was. She encouraged me when I was going through not to give
up. I felt like I’d failed myself and everybody, but she let me know that
failure was not an option.”
Clark fought mightily to turn her
life around. “I was empty and had no more fight in me,” she said. “But then I
knew I was a winner. I just thank God that I didn’t end up at a dead end.”
Dione
Pruitt:
‘There
is no turning back’
“I’m free, I got peace, and I’m
going to keep it like that,” said Pruitt, who has her own home now and a
vehicle. Her children also were returned after the threat of domestic violence
had ceased and after she was no longer homeless. Thanks to LINCS, “I’m just
blessed.”
Pruitt says she is stronger now than
she was before. “I’m still processing and healing on certain things,” she said.
“But I’m there. There is no turning back. I’ve come too far. My goal is to get
my GED, own my own business, and just live life.”
LINCS may have been Pruitt’s saving
grace. She will graduate this month with her GED. “The only people I can really
trust is Ms. Wanda and Ms. JoAnn Lee, my godmom,” said Pruitt, 33.
“Dione was very timid because of all
the abuse that she’s gone through,” Taylor said. “Her self esteem is at an all
time high and she’s learned to love herself all over again.”
Love had been fleeting or nonexistent,
Pruitt claims. “When I left my husband, I was homeless and slept in my car. My
oldest child was with me; the other children stayed with their fathers,” she
said. “I stayed six months at the YWCA and got a referral to LINCS.”
When Pruitt finally got herself
together, her bearings straight, she surprised her daughter. “She was the first
to see the house. The others came after a month. They were happy and running
everywhere. So I just let them have a good time.”
Pruitt said she was never told she was
beautiful. “Now I know I’m beautiful,” she said confidently. “Nobody can take
that away from me.”
Wanda
Taylor:
‘I’m an
overcomer’
The
women that Taylor has helped to get back on their feet are mirror images of
herself. She grew up in a single parent household in public housing and
likewise endured verbal, psychological and physical abuse.
“My mom battled alcohol and my dad
was addicted to drugs. So I was raised in the streets and grew up with
gangsters, prostitutes and drug dealers,” said Taylor, who once lived with her
brother and sister in both the Claiborne Homes and LeMoyne Gardens housing
projects.
The environment that Taylor was
accustomed to was dangerous. She’d endeared herself to the underbelly of life
and engaged in the type of illicit behavior that could’ve cost her life.
"At 11, I was introduced to cocaine,
alcohol and sex,” she said. “I started experiencing domestic violence at 15,
dropped out of school in the 11th-grade, and became a teen mom. I had no morals
and values.
“I was so confused. I was selling
drugs, stealing, in and out of the court. I’m the face in incest, homelessness,
substance abuse, incarceration – everything. I lived at The Salvation Army
twice, in a vacant apartment with my children, and out of my mom’s car.
“I was shot at, stabbed, almost
burned alive, and tied up. Guns were pulled on me countless times. And I also
went through an abusive marriage – almost three years,” said Taylor, the mother
of two adult children and three grandchildren.
In 1992, Taylor made a decision to
transform her life. She found Jesus Christ. In 2002, at the age of 28, she
received her high school diploma. At 35, she’d received a cosmetology diploma,
technical certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling, and an Associate of Science
degree in Human Services both from Southwest Tennessee Community College. She
also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management at the
University of Phoenix.
“I’m an overcomer,” she said.
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