Wednesday's Woman: Lakeisha Johnson

Lakeisha Johnson has been exposed to compassion since she was a young child.  

Her mother, a role model and inspiration to Johnson, raised a host of foster kids as she grew up.

“We would have about seven kids at a time,” she said.

This unique upbringing gave her insight not only into the importance of family, but also the need for "compassionate people to give a helping hand" to those less fortunate.

Johnson, who has a bachelor's degree in public relations and a master's degree in project management, works in finance at a corporate trust firm.

As a lifelong volunteer, she found herself on the board of the Atlanta Outreach Project serving as treasurer.

She wanted to do more than just serve on a board. She had so many ideas of what could be done to improve the lives of the homeless, but she did not feel like she had the opportunity to act on her dreams.

A Dream is Born
Her work with the Atlanta Outreach Project increased her profound passion for helping the homeless.  

“Being involved with homelessness period,” she said, “I feel that a lot of times they didn't choose to be this way. People tend to think, oh, this is a drunk, he just didn't go out and do what's needed to get out of this situation.”

She recognizes that this is not the case.

“People have fallen on bad times,” she said. “You have children who have no idea how to get out of this situation. People who have just lost their jobs. Some moved here for work and don't have family and have nowhere to go.”

It was during a conversation with a homeless man at a shelter that inspired her dream of The Faith Project.  

He was a returning veteran.

“He was very upset,” Johnson said, "and hurt that he went out and served, then came back and had nowhere to go."

There was no funding to help returning veterans like this young man get back on his feet if there was no place to call home.

The Faith Project, named after her own daughter, Phayth, is designed to serve the homeless, but because of her interaction with this man, her ultimate goal is to open a full-blown shelter for homeless veterans in Gwinnett or Dekalb counties.

“I started researching on where homeless veterans go, and what type of service they get,” she said. “I didn't see much.”

She called the Department of Veteran's Affairs and spoke to a lady who expressed the same concern as Johnson – there was nowhere for them to go that wasn't already full.

She and her board of directors are currently searching for a location for the shelter. As of now, they spend each Saturday serving the homeless of Atlanta. Every second Saturday, different groups go with them, including a team from New Galilee Christian Ministries and students from Snellville's .

Another long-term goal is to open up a thrift store, but with a twist.

“The thrift store would be like your normal Goodwill/Salvation Army store,” she said, “but one day out of the month the store [will be] closed to the general public and open to the critical homeless. We will bus them in five at a time and let them take a shower, get beauty services and free clothing.”

Christmas in July
Another need that Johnson recognized is that people tend to stop volunteering during the summer months. November and December see the highest number of volunteers.

“I want to bring that spirit to the summer months,” Johnson said.

The Faith Project will host a “Christmas in July” at Integrity Christian Academy on July 25.

“It's going to be a day of service where we have a beauty school that's in the area to do facials, manicures and mini-makeovers,” she said. “We will have clothes that we have been collecting where they can shop for their clothes for free. They can take home whatever they want.”

Shelters from the surrounding area will bring in their clients for the day.

 They will also have giveaways, entertainment and food.  

As the search continues for adequate facilities for the shelter, she plans on growing the amount of volunteers who go to the shelters.  

"It's rewarding to me," she said of her own volunteer work in any capacity. "They think I'm helping them, but they're helping me."