Joyce Ford of the NAOMI Project tells us about how it all began and talks International Womens Day

Joyce Ford, founder of the NAOMI Project talks with us about their beginnings, and tells us about the story of how THE NAOMI Project was invited to the United Nations for International Womens Day.  Also, there is a special event coming up, and details are here in the podcast. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, it's Dennis Davis on iHeartRadio. With us today we have missus Joyce
Ford from the Naomi Project and welcometo the show. Thank you so much.
I am really excited about getting outto let people know about my passion.
Let's start by telling us about NaomiProject and what it is and your
mission statement. Well, seventeen yearsago, I saw a need for women

(00:24):
who didn't want to go back totheir abuser. So trying to figure out
what to do, I started theNaomi Project and was and able to help
the women get back into the workforceor get back into life period because what
they've been done is they've been displaced. Because the mission of Naomi Project is

(00:45):
to get them back to the waythey were before in order for them to
thrive and survive. And so thisis a program. This is a program,
yes, and the program consists ofbeing able to get at women healthy
again. Because when women take careof everybody else, they let themselves go.

(01:07):
So the very first part of theprogram is that they have to take
care of themselves. Once they've takencare of themselves, therapy is involved because
we have to understand why this happened, so it won't happen again. After
that, what we do is weoffer them an opportunity to go back to
school, to learn a trade orto be able to go in the workforce.

(01:27):
So if they're doing all this,we have resources for them to be
able to do this. Once they'vedecided what they want to do and realize
that going to school is something thatmost women who've been in domestic situations have
not been able to finish. Soto be able to get their GED,
we partner with Florence School District IEin order for them to get finish their

(01:49):
GED, and we partner with FlorenceDarlington Tech in order for them to learn
a trade. So after they dothat, what comes next is for them
to be able to try and findthem a place to go because the last
six months is crucial because there areno sufficient housing for anybody let's loan to
afford. So being able to getthem that last six months to be able

(02:13):
to get them a place to stay. And once they've done that, then
after the year is over and theyget a year long stay to stay at
Naomi, and once that's over,we provide household items for them. We
provide living room, dining room,bedroom, furniture, household items in order
that they don't have to start atthe bottom again, that they can start
at a level which they left.They left a house that was complete,

(02:37):
and they're going to go back toa house that's complete. This is you
know, missus Joyce, I gottatell you. As far as taking someone
who is in their moments of theirdeepest despair and then turning that whole life
around to making them feel empowered,it's probably one of the more beautiful things
that you see, is what itis that y'all do at the Naomi Project.

(03:00):
Tell me about Naomi Project and howit came about, Like take me
back seventeen years ago, talk aboutthe need about why you created Naomi Project.
Well, I've been involved with domesticviolence and sexual assault for over forty
years as a volunteer. So whenwe came to Florence, I kept seeing
women who said, you know,if I just had someplace safe to go,

(03:23):
I wouldn't go back to my abuser. But over the years they've had
no place to go. So that'sthe reason for the Naomi Project. Naomi
Project is a jumping off point forthem to be able to not have to
go back to their abuser, butto be successful and to be able to
thrive along with their children and helptheir children to understand that domestic violence should

(03:46):
not be you know. And here'ssomething else to remember is that asking for
help is not a sign of weakness. Is it comes from a place of
strength. And I'll say it againfor the people in the back, asking
for help is not a sign ofweakness. Asking for help comes from a
place of strength. And to helpbuild on that strength through the Naomi Project

(04:11):
with a year long program for themto understand why this happened, what they
can do for it not to happenagain. Words, how can we support
the Naomi Project? First of all, go look at us at Naomi Project
dot com and it tells our history, it tells where we are and what
we're doing for the future, andour events we're having. So if you

(04:33):
go on Naomi Project dot com orand there's a phone number you can call,
so be able to get in touchwith us to come volunteer. And
we're an all volunteer organization, sowe have no paid staff. The volunteers
that come and the beauty of thisis is that most of them come from

(04:55):
the colleges, so we're able totrain the seniors that go through and have
to do internships to be able tograduate. So training them what domestic abuse
looks like, hopefully they don't fallinto that and know that they can survive
without all. Right, So beingcelebrated at International Women's Day in two thousand

(05:15):
and eight at the United Nations.Tell us about that, Oh that was
exciting. Avon Products called me andsaid they wanted to recognize the Naomi Project.
You realize I was only two yearsinto having a nonprofit. They've had
an all expense paid trip to NewYork City and we got to sit in
at the United Nations and they chauffeuredus around and they just treated us like

(05:40):
royal and went to the Avon buildingand we were able to see actually what
the Union was about and what InternationalWomen's Day and it was Reese Witherspoon was
the chairman of it that year.So it got to meet Reese Witherspoon and
it was really exciting after only beingopen for two year. Years now we're
on with Joyce Ford with the NaomiProject in celebration of International Women's Day.

(06:08):
One thing that you can do tohelp amplify the efforts of the Naomi Project
is Meantime is a meantime. It'sa dinner in theater. Can you take
us through it? We decided thatwe wanted to do something different. This
is going on our eighteenth year.So what we decided is that we would

(06:29):
do a play. And one ofthe ladies that partners with me, she
wrote the play and it had todo with incidences that she had run across
in her lifetime. She put togetherthis play about domestic abuse and how hopeful
it can be and it's not helpless. So the play is going to be

(06:49):
the Meantime is a Meantime, andit's going to tell the story. And
with the story, it's going tobe able to tell how you can get
out and how life can go on. And we're gonna then we're gonna have
dinner that same day and it's gonnabe at First Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue

(07:12):
and the doors will open at oneo'clock. We will have You can buy
a ticket on Naomi Project dot comor you can call the Leatherman Center.
They have tickets that you can buy. And also what you can do is
you can call the number eight fourthree six one five one five four eight,

(07:35):
which is my number, and Ican direct you or I can help
you to be able to sponsor us, or to help us to make this
a success, because this is forthe women who come into Naomi and how
they can see that what the communityis going to do for them to help
them get to a stage where theycan be successful too. Just so that

(07:56):
people can connect with you guys ofcourse Naomi Project. But you guys are
on Facebook. Yes, we areon Facebook also at Naomi Project zero six.
All right, Joyce Ford, thankyou so much for joining us on
iHeartRadio. Thank you for having us, and we look forward to hearing from
everybody who watches, who listens toiHeart