STARTING OVER AGAIN
IT'S OK TO S.O.A.
My name is Kimberly Harrison, and I want to create a secure and stable home for women who are like me. My upbringing took me straight to becoming a statistic. Whatever could go wrong did, and I want to show some ladies that have fallen on hard times that there is a way out. I am an ex-convict who could not get help from the system when I was released. I didn't even get the money that I had left on my books, Fed-ex couldn't deliver, and the phone in Gatesville was always busy, and that was in 2003. Starting Over Again is a place that lives up to its name. Here, we provide battered women and female ex-offenders who have no more than one minor child in their custody with housing, life tools to re-enter society productively, job readiness training, parenting classes, and self-employment information.
THE REASONS FOR S.O.A.
When I was released I went to stay with my aunt who had custody of my oldest daughter. While I was there I never saved a dime towards my move into my new life; there was always something wrong that cost me money. My daughter would play the middle and kept up confusion I guess because my aunt had custody and she felt she didn't have to listen to me, but they wanted me to pay for whatever. If I would have had a place to stay without all of the stress of staying with someone, I might have learned how to arm myself with knowledge on how to manage money, family, and life's situations without all of the struggle and disappointments. I just got hit with knowledge to keep my head above water and to depend on GOD and myself not others. If I could just help one person, I will have done my job. I really don't want anyone to make the same mistakes I did. If all I do is tell my residents what not to do it will make a big difference in their lives, because just knowing could save someone from going back to prison or back into an unsafe living situation.
WHAT WE DO
S.O.A. is a non-profit organization that provides housing and life skills for battered women and female ex-offenders. The programs that S.O.A has to offer help women re-enter society successfully and gracefully, without cause. S.O.A is also a stepping stone for getting women together with their minor children in order to start a new positive relationship and plant family values.