Little Debbie’s Second Chance Home, Inc. – Making a Difference in the Community

Deborah Stiggers was only 39 years old when she passed this life, but she left enough of an impression on her young children for them to remember the legacy she left behind. In their South Bronx, New York community, the Stiggers’ home was known as the “safe” house. It was there that the local teens would flock for hot meals, compassion, nonjudgmental advice, and at times a spot on the family’s living room floor to lay their heads for the night. They knew that they would get honest feedback and direction about whatever trouble was plaguing their young lives from Deborah. It was an environment that fostered honesty and trust. While the Stiggers did not have much, they withheld no resources from anyone who found themselves on their door stoop. No one was turned away nor did anyone ever leave feeling like their needs were not met. Deborah’s kindness was not just limited to the teens but at times was extended to their parents or other adults in the neighborhood who needed a helping hand. Even though she only had three biological children, Deborah had many unofficial adopted children. The memories of the love and nurturing her children saw their mother exhibit to the people in their community would stay with them long after she was gone. So it was by no accident that young Lakisha Stiggers would grow up to model those same characteristics as her mother. 

At 25, Lakisha’s passion to help young girls and families break away from the generational curses which plagued her community through intervention was awakened and she wasted no time in opening up her own home in Decatur to young girls who needed mentoring and guidance as their foster parent.  That was the beginning of what would later branch out into state supported group homes. Incorporated in 2004, the first of six group homes bearing the name Little Debbie’s Second Chance Home, Inc. (LDSCH), a non-profit organization, was born out of Lakisha’s desire to carry on her mother’s legacy. Located exclusively in DeKalb County, LDSCH is a residential/live-in facility which provides various social services to disadvantaged adolescents and teens (boys and girls), i.e., runaways, high school drop outs, pregnant teens and teen mothers, substance abusers, etc., in an attempt to rehabilitate, reduce or eliminate occurrences. Each group home is strategically nestled inconspicuously in selected neighborhoods in an attempt to protect the client’s identity. LDCSH is “committed to improving the academic achievement, self-esteem, social competence, and avoidance of problem/high-risk behavior of the teens and adolescents in our care by providing relationships with a caring, exceptionally trained adult who help will help them reach their potential.” Each facility houses up to six residents and is staffed 24 hours a day by 4 rotating staff members referred to as “house parents”. Residents are evaluated on intake to assess their immediate needs and are then matched up with an in-house Community Service Individual (CSI), a psychotherapist and if deemed necessary they are also assigned a psychiatrist who facilitates medication.  There is also an in-house nurse who monitors the residents to ensure the timely dispensation of medication doses. 

Overall, the programs offered by LDSCH are geared towards the whole individual and is spearheaded by a staff that not only relates to them but is diligent in their dealings with issues that are not necessarily prevalent in a typical settings. By providing activities that the residents would normally engage in if they were actually living at home with their parents, i.e., extracurricular activities; going to church; chore responsibilities (preparing meals, housekeeping); shopping excursions; coupled with tutoring and conflict resolutions, the program provides some sort of normalcy which allows the teen to thrive in a stable environment which fosters responsibility and accountability.  However the core purpose of the program is to offer help for the issue(s) that brought them to LDSCH, including underlying causes, i.e., alcohol and drug abuse treatment, psychotherapy, etc.  The residents also learn fundamental key components necessary for them to transition into independent living as well as develop good coping skills that will propel them pass those issues. 

By implementing these programs in a safe secure environment, LDSCH allows adolescents/teens to experience their dreams of growing up to be normal productive individuals in the community to the point that they want to give back.  Like:

 “Joy” a 20-year old junior at Atlanta Technical College who was a resident of LDSCH for five years. She was about 14 when she entered the program and was addicted to marijuana. She was also a runner/runaway. She recalls her first time at the group home. “I hated the experience. [There were] too many rules.  I was not allowed to smoke, but I defied the rules anyway.” She shared that she used to get into trouble in school all the time and it showed in her grades.  Despite her defiance, the staff and the director would constantly take her to task for her behavior and she resented them, but that was then. After lots of intervention and her finally realizing that “these people really cared about me”, she decided to give the program the benefit of the doubt. Today she works full time as a pre-school teacher and hopes to own her own daycare one day. In between her busy schedule, she makes time to give back as a mentor at LDSCH.  She uses her experience as a past resident as a guide to help encourage and counsel the current residents. She says, “I can see myself in them and I am able to share with them the importance of sticking with the program.”  Looking back she can see how she was a handful and how she tested the patience and reigns of the staff, including the director, time and time again.  Through it all she is grateful that they never gave up on her. She recalls the staff made a significant impact on her and it was a good feeling realizing that they were working on her behalf. She attributes her academic and personal success to the structure of the program but mostly the concern the director showed her. Prior to entering the home she had “trust” issues.  It seemed like all her life “people were always letting [her] down.” However, as time went by she began trusting the director more because of her constant intervention. The director was always in her face forcing her to face her actions and the repercussions that followed. She also recalls that there were structures in place to help facilitate bonding between the residents which lasted way after she left the program. “We are like sisters and we stick up for each other.”

And then there is:

“Mary Ann” also 20, who is a current resident of LDSCH for the past two years, but has been in and out of the social services system since she was 9 years old. Faced with a lot of challenges, her mother voluntarily gave Mary Ann up because she did not feel she could take care of her. At first Mary Ann admits that she did not understand why her mother would give her up but as she got older she realized that her mom was addicted to the same drugs Mary Ann found herself addicted to. Through the love and support she has received, including in-house rehab, Mary Ann has been able to kick her drug addiction.  She too indicates that she was a bit “defiant” when she first entered the program at LDSCH.  She said, “I didn’t want to be there.” However, the staff helped her become acclimated to her new surroundings including registering her for her new school. Over the two years that she has spent at LDSCH she has developed some lasting relationships with the staff. From the house mother to the psycho therapist, Mary Ann shared how they were all instrumental in her recovery.  She recalls that the staff would constantly check on her, even on their off days. She fondly remembers a deceased staff member, Mama D, who would always share positive uplifting words to help keep her motivated, especially those days when she was feeling like a relapse was on the horizon. She stated, “She was a wonderful mentor who was like a mother to me and the other girls in her care.” Mary Ann is a high school graduate and will be emancipated from the program in June. She has already been pre-accepted at 4 local colleges including UGA. She is not sure where she will end up but one thing she is sure of is that LDSCH gave her the push she needed to stay in the right direction. Sadly Mary Ann’s mom died in 2008, but Mary Ann is grateful to the visiting resource manager, Ms. Hayes, who helped fill the hole where her mom should have been.

It could very well take a while for me to relay all the great things that both Joy and Mary Ann had to say about the program. So in the interest of time, I will sum it all up in one word – inspiring. But it would be remised if I did not echo the sediment they both expressed. Their experience at LDSCH was a major factor in the outcome of not just their lives but, also in the lives of every teen or adolescent that passes through that agency. While they have all made mistakes in the past, they are able to learn from them. Mostly because the staff facilitates the change they need by encouraging their spiritual growth and forward thinking. They instill in them values, ambition, and determination to succeed. LDSCH is committed to the success of all the residents in their care.

As mentioned before, LDSCH group homes are located inconspicuously and strategically in various DeKalb Country neighborhoods. As a rule of thumb there is no signage to identify the home as anything but a residential home, no excessive activities to draw attention to the residents in the home, nor any signage or group home insignia on vehicles assigned to transport residents to and from their daily activities.  Thus there is no way to tell that a LDSCH group home is a group home based on visibility. Again, the goal here is to have the residents co-exist in local neighborhoods to facilitate and foster normal living conditions without the stigma that sometimes may be associated with group home facilities as well as a safety precaution as it is sometimes necessary to conceal the identity of the residents in their care. For the most part LDCSH has been very successful to that end. Unfortunately there are times that the agency may inherit a facility which has already been stigmatized or compromised and it becomes necessary to relocate the home to another neighborhood in an attempt to distance the residents from that stigmatism and give them a fresh new start.  Recently it became necessary to seek relocation of one of the group homes for that very reason. Unfortunately the process was compromised by not only the targeted new neighborhood’s residents and the DeKalb Board of Commissioners, but also selected city council members who launched a campaign to block the relocation efforts. In fact LDSCH was forced to abandon the venture to relocate the home because the location was further compromised when plans to acquire the new location was leaked to the public in an a series of articles printed in the DeKalb County’s CrossRoadNews (“Teens group home proposed for Wesley Chapel” Jennifer Ffrench Parker, 3/16/13 pg A3; “BOC denies permit for teen group home” Jessica Smith 3/30/13 pg 5)  Even if the permit was not denied, there was no way that the agency could proceed with plans to relocate to the new address as the safety of the residents was compromised. As a condition of the existence of the group homes, residents are guaranteed their privacy and assured of their safety as it may sometimes really be a life or death situation. As such, LDSCH is committed to operating their group homes in undisclosed locations.

Despite aforementioned challenges, LDSCH continues to make a difference in the lives of the residents in their care. As a result of the efforts of the staff at LDSCH under the leadership of Lakisha S. Stiggers, the residents in the program has achieved one or more of the following since their enrollment: remained actively enrolled in school, improved their academic standing; made honor roll (principal/dean's list), graduated from high school with their diploma or completed the GED program successfully, enrolled in continuing education classes at local university or college, obtained their driver's license, remained successfully drug free, gained meaningful parenting skills, ability to retain custody of their minor child while pursuing their education, gained family planning education, gained problem-solving/conflict resolution skills, matriculated through the program and obtained their own apartment, experienced family reunification, and/or gained meaningful employment in the field of their choice.

As a beacon of hope, a photo of Deborah Stiggers graces the wall of every LDSCH facility as a constant reminder of the woman who was responsible for provoking a dream in her daughter – that no teen or adolescents who enter those doors will ever go without love, compassion, or understanding.  The essence of who Deborah Stiggers was lives on in the life changing work of the tireless efforts of the staff of LDSCH.)i(

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