At the mention of “Skid Row,” certain images might come to mind. For those who reside in Los Angeles, California, Skid Row is a locale known for its less than picturesque scenes of tent-lined sidewalks and trash-littered streets, where dozens of its around 5000 residents tread seemingly without a sense of purpose or future plans.
However, for Angela Dean, who found herself and her young daughters, Dezaree and Deja, living in a shelter for 45 days on Skid Row, it’s where the seed of her dream took root, and it eventually flourished into something that changed not only her own life but the lives of so many others.
Dean’s journey down the road of homelessness started after she found herself in an abusive relationship that she had to leave. The collateral damage hurled her into one struggle after another.
“We experienced hardship after hardship – struggling with domestic issues and abandonment issues … I was trying to be a single parent,” Dean explained. “When we first started out, I had some savings, and I told the girls that everything would be fine. I thought it would work out, but it didn’t. Before I knew it, all of our funds had been depleted. I took the children to their father’s doorstep and asked for help. I went to family for help. I can remember sitting at bus stops, and at train stations waiting until daylight.”
Dean realized that turning to her family wouldn’t be an option.
“They were so scattered. I didn’t think to leave the state,” she said.
Calling herself a Valley girl at heart, Dean said that her family migrated to the San Fernando Valley from Dallas, Texas, when she was a child.
Dean described her upbringing as a positive one, where her entrepreneurial mother instilled within her certain golden qualities.
“I was raised up in a home where my mother’s door was always open to friends in need,” she said. “We did gospel brunches and fund-raising.”
Even during her own dilemma, Dean shared what little she and her daughters had with other homeless people.
During that time, Dezaree and Deja were in middle school.
“In my
At that point, Dean called out to God, and asked him what she should do.
“I grabbed a piece of paper and started to write. It was a profound vision that was so overwhelmingly wonderful,” said said. “It was a step toward purpose … I was no longer depressed and anxious – I went from trying to survive to being driven.”
Dean’s non-profit Healing Hands Heal Hearts, was born while she was still homeless.
“I Really began to pay attention, to processes,” she said, explaining that as she sought help for herself, that she would take notes on the process, with the idea of later helping others get through it more smoothly than she had.
“I understood what it took to survive in a situation like that,” she said, adding that it prepared her to be empathetic to others.
It wasn’t long before the door came open for Dean and her daughters to find a home, too. “I was in the shelter downtown on Skid Row, and the Lord instructed me to take a walk. The Holy Spirit began to guide me. He said turn left, walk through there, turn right here, and then I heard Him say to my spirit to stop and look up. I went into the building, and I asked about the housing program. I was told that they only provided housing for individuals. When I left, I was content that I did what God had told me,” Dean said, adding that a man ran out of the building and he told her about a new construction project that would house families.
The Deans were the first tenants to move into that building. A dream come true for Dean, they moved in around Christmas time, even before the construction’s completion.
“When they gave us the keys in our home … I’ll never forget that … I’ll never forget it,” Dean said.
Healing Hands Heal Hearts grew into a one-stop-shop for those suffering through homelessness, alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness.
“We offer one-on-one referrals. It’s a hub for other non-profits that provide food, housing, clothing, and education,” Dean said, further explaining that they are not just passing people off, but instead, getting them over to the next phase.
“We don’t let go of that family until we know that all of those needs are met. A home and food – those are solutions to a problem,” she said. “I can understand the mentality … people lose hope, and they think that the only thing they need today is to eat and stay somewhere. But what about their long-term goals, dreams and visions? Those have died, and they can’t see anything except what’s in front of them.”
Dean said, that the complete answer is restoration and healing, and she wants to help turn scenarios around for people.
“When we think about helping a family where the father is an alcoholic, and the mother is depressed, and they lose their home, the first thing we need to focus on is the immediate need of the parents. Is the father still an alcoholic? Is the mother still depressed?”
Dean hopes that her organization will help provide an avenue so that the issues that cause individuals to become homeless are dealt with. When those needs are met, she said it would help to curb habitual homelessness.
Now, Dean is in the re-branding process and has an even greater vision to erect a facility that would encompass a variety of social service organizations that would make it even easier for people to get what they need.
“We hope to be breaking ground within the next three years,” she said.
Dean said she’s very proud of Dezaree and Deja, who went through it all with her, and came out of it not only as survivors but victors.
“My daughters wanted to get actively involved in volunteering,” she said, adding that they were “giving back without even realizing it.”
Deja, 20, graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA at 16.
“She wanted to study medicine, and she’s still going after a degree in psychology,” Dean said. “Dezaree is 23, and she started her own businesses. She has an entrepreneurial spirit.”
Dean’s message for those who might be troubled with any of life’s difficulties is a simple one.
“Above everything, all the hurt, pain, disappointment and struggle, there is hope,” she said. “It doesn’t start until we believe. We have to reach for it. There’s so much more. It’s not your end – if anything, it’s a rebirth.”
Nicole Major, Managing Editor of Shades Of Goodness, has written professionally for more than 15 years for a variety of publications including the Jacksonville Business Journal, Women in Aviation Magazine and The Herald. She’s written internationally for PC World Egypt, the Middle East Times, and Am Cham Egypt’s Business Monthly Magazine. She is currently a fulltime staff writer for the Fairfield Ledger in Fairfield, Iowa where she has written under the name Nicole Hester-Williams. In 1997, the Arthritis Foundation nominated her for a profile story she wrote highlighting a young woman’s struggle with Rheumatoid Arthritis; she was subsequently awarded a Celebrate Independence Medal. Nicole has authored three books including “Amina, Princess of Zaria,” which was a brief Amazon bestseller for books in African literature in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in both journalism and social science. She currently lives in Fairfield, Iowa with her husband Jason and their two daughters, Danielle and Gabrielle.
