MCALESTER, Okla. — A transitional community for women and children in McAlester plans to add more homes to help more people struggling with addiction, domestic violence, and homelessness.
2 News Oklahoma’s Douglas Braff listened to one mother and daughter about their life-changing experience.
“I would say the hardest time was when I was [living] in Muskogee,” LaTasha Brown told 2 News. “That's when I was in my addiction for six years.”
Brown said she and her daughter, Lovely Lott, were also homeless.
She said she decided to try something different, and that thing was Community of Hope, a place where struggling women and their children can get a fresh start.
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Mike Kirk, the project’s developer, says it’s all about “trying to get ‘em back, reestablished into normal society, get 'em back to working, get 'em back established to a nice home, and get 'em back on their feet.”
Since starting this project two years ago, Kirk told 2 News they have built five duplexes for 10 households. Now, they want to expand upon that.
“We have slotted for another 15 homes that we're going to build here with a grand total of 40 spaces for people to live,” he said.
On top of that, he said they plan to turn a couple of lots into foster care homes. He hopes to complete all this within three years.
Brown told us that it’s been “nothing but up” since moving there.
“I have a huge family now, and so much support and so many things that keep me active with the community and kind of give back what's been freely given to me,” she said.
We asked her about returning to her most challenging moment and telling herself she would get to live in a place like this with her daughter. She replied, “I probably would've just cried, you know? I would've been very emotional and just hopeful and curious to see what that would look like, because I've never had an opportunity like this before.”
Lott said, “It's a great place to be in your hard times as a kid.”
We asked her the same question, and she said, “I would be excited.”
She added that she always pictured being “in a house like this and with people, like how people are here, 'cause I used to be by myself, but now I have a lot of people.”
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