With over 200 documented homeless people within the Yazoo community, progress is being made to provide shelter and direction to a new life thanks to a volunteer-based organization.
Cynthia Walker with Double Blessings Yazoo has opened her Broadway home to several homeless women, many with children, in an effort to stop the cycle of abandonment, struggle and hopelessness. Powered through her faith in God, Walker wants to make a difference in the lives of these women by shedding light on the endless possibilities of a strong life through education, employment and faith.
Ten beds are currently available inside her home for homeless women and their children.
“This is a community concern, not just a Cynthia Johnson Walker concern,” she said, sitting in her home. “We need the entire community’s involvement. God’s Word says there will always be the poor and needy. He also says to have an open hand.”
Double Blessings Yazoo will hold its first fundraiser on Sunday, July 30, at 6 p.m. at the L.T. Miller Community Center. The guest speaker will be Maggie Wade-Dixon, a longtime television news anchor for WLBT in Jackson.
But Walker said there are other ways to raise awareness and battle homelessness outside of financial donations.
“All of us have a gift, whether it be time or a talent,” Walker said, “By using our gifts and knowledge, the community can come forward to implement a discipleship program that can deliver us from homelessness.”
Double Blessings Yazoo has several volunteer opportunities such as mentoring, transportation and prayer circles.
Walker can share hundreds of stories that involve women who feel they have no direction or choice in life. Often struggling with drug or alcohol dependence, many of these women are also involved in abusive relationships.
Double Blessings Yazoo is here to provide shelter, security and stability to ensure these women become productive citizens.
“We enroll them in either a GED program or a Holmes Community College study program,” Walker said. “We assist them with their classes, often paying fees and tuition. But we also monitor their progress so that they can gain employment in the future.”
Walker said those staying with Double Blessings Yazoo must also commit to a church, agree to drug testing and enroll in a behavioral service if necessary.
“We are not here to simply provide a roof over their heads,” Walker said. “That would just enable them. We are here give them direction. If they are not mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually healthy, they cannot move forward. They must launch forward to take these challenges.”
Double Blessings Yazoo is designed to oversee, govern and assist others in progressing into a better quality of life.
“Sometimes you need a partner in life, a cheerleader and a person who shows you that they care,” Walker said. “These women don’t often know their worth and value. Sometimes they need reminders of how valuable they are.”
Double Blessings Yazoo also repairs families by offering stability and structure through it efforts. Simple child-rearing instruction from meal planning and school involvement is encouraged and practiced through the program.
“It is a tough situation, but you can rise together as a whole family,” Walker said. “We are guiding them toward an independent living status. We have to get them a point of positive independency. Double Blessings is for women who want to make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of their children.”
There are also several missions in the works for Double Blessings Yazoo. An Open House will be held in late August. Possible partnerships with the Manna House, Nissan and other businesses are being ironed out.
“We are asking God for His favor,” Walker said. “It will take time to repair, renew and rejuvenate these broken women. But women are a driving force. If we could save half the women who need help in our community, it helps us all as a whole.”
