Meet Lee

“I couldn’t do five miles. I couldn’t. But, before I knew it, I was walking a quarter mile, a half mile, a mile, and two miles.”

Levolia, age 51, known affectionately as Lee at Helping Up Mission and Prudence to family and friends, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. “My mother and father were both addicts,” Lee says. “My mother loved me but abandoned me in a hospital at an early age. My mother’s cousin, Beverly, raised me for a while, and she loved me as much as she could. At age 8, my mother’s oldest sister, Alberta, who was better off financially, stepped in and moved me in with her, and sent me to private schools. But I missed my mom and moved back with her to Cherry Hill, Baltimore.”

Thinking back on her young life, Lee remembers love. “Our neighborhood was tight knit. Everybody knew everybody. I had an older sister and a younger brother, and we all slept in the same room. My father had another child from another lady. I loved my half-sister so much. I do not remember childhood trauma. I just remember love!”

“My mother and sister were so close. I was about 25 when my mother died. I did not want to go to the funeral, and my family literally carried me out of the house. And my sister did not cry or mourn my mother, like I did. So, I asked her why she was not more upset, and she said it was because she got high and the ‘drugs sedated her.’ After my mom’s death, I wanted to try drugs and they begged me not to. At the time, I was working as an executive secretary. I had money and a young baby. But I did not want to feel the pain; and from using drugs, my entire world crumbled.”

“I always knew about God because of my maternal aunts. They were saved at a young age. God called them one day, and they became devout Christians. They introduced me to church and how to have a relationship with God. They planted a seed in me that became watered when I came to Helping Up Mission (HUM). My aunt Alberta told me about HUM. I responded by saying that it is only for men, and she said, ‘They now have a Center for Women & Children!’ HUM was nothing that I thought it would be. God resides here. It is a place where people care about you holistically. I am being healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

“Today I am doing stuff that I have never done before. I do not recognize the old me. I am 51 years old, and God saved my life. I remember before I got to HUM, sitting on my bed, and crying and asking God, ‘If You are real, You gotta show me, You gotta save me.’ I cried all day. I used to live, and I lived to use. I was the living dead. But today, I am LIVING!”

“I went to a recovery convention in Front Royal, Virginia, recently. It was beautiful in the mountains, and the personal stories were powerful. I was really encouraged. I have gone to equine therapy. I was able to get my birth certificate and social security card. I am meeting with Brett Hartnet and Whitney Mugula in Workforce Development to work on my education. Before, I gave everything away, but now I see that God allowed everything to be taken. God is my everything. I am excited and things are opening up!”

“I joined Back on My Feet (BOMF). We walk one to three miles every Thursday. It is prepping us to be a part of Team HUM for the 5k at the Baltimore Running Festival on October 15. I am 51, and I couldn’t do five miles. I couldn’t. But, before I knew it, I was walking a quarter mile, a half mile, a mile, and two miles. I used to walk around the chapel and sing to God. I am in the choir, and people started telling me that I need to get involved with BOMF! People see things in each other that we do not see in ourselves.”

“I have never had a personal relationship with God. It was not until I came to HUM. You plant a seed in a pot, and the seed becomes a stalk, and the next day it grows a leaf. In four months, my spirit has been strengthened. I used to blame Him for my mom and dad being addicts. But God saw fit to save me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. I do not have to worry because God has plans for me. Now I want His will instead of my own.”

“Looking forward to the future, I know that I will be helping other people. Telling them that there is eternal life. I want to be where God puts me. I can go to work, obey the rules of HUM, spend time with God, and maybe somebody will see that.”

“To the donors who tirelessly help in our library, these people give of themselves and their time, effort, prayers, and money I am so thankful. That is how God intended us to work and come together. There are many other women and men who are grateful at HUM. We are thankful to God for allowing you to have the mind and heart to do what you do, and we are thankful to YOU for doing it!”