Meet Lacey Wilkins of Stepping Stones Safe Haven

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lacey Wilkins.

Hi Lacey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I graduated from nursing school in 2001, stepping into a position at Southern Hills in postpartum and nursery. After four years, I was ready for something different. I first worked in a doctor’s office and then moved to Vanderbilt to care for children battling cancer. My daughter was born within nine months of starting in that role and I knew that while caring for children at such a critical time was fulfilling, being more available to my daughter was my heart.

I started at Nurses for Newborns in 2007 where I would spend the next ten years cultivating my passion for women and their children impacted by substance use, mental health concerns, or domestic violence. At Nurses for Newborns, we worked to fully develop a program to address infant mortality through home visitation with newborns considered to be at risk. As the opioid epidemic grew, we initiated a community collaboration to help guide the response to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Out of that collaborative, I had the opportunity to join 180 Health Partners as the VP of Clinical Operations.

While the business team worked to create a network of providers and resources, I developed the clinical model in partnership with a local behavioral health expert. At the time, I was working to complete my MBA through Lipscomb University with a focus on non-profit leadership. As that degree was completed, I found my heart longing to return to the non-profit setting. My Pastor served on the board of Stepping Stones and when the Executive Director left, he urged me to apply. I accepted the position and began what would be a fulfilling, challenging, and rewarding adventure!

I was charged with building a program model, diversifying our funding, and increasing our community footprint. Through the journey, I’ve found my faith stretched. In 2019, we thought we might have to close the doors. But the Lord provided in BIG ways! When the pandemic hit, we went 14 months without a case in the shelter. I was able to chair and guide our community homelessness service providers’ response. Suddenly, it made complete sense why God would call a nurse to lead a shelter! We’ve been able to bring in over $850,000 in grant funding.

We are currently formalizing our program model and are wrapping up year one of our first strategic plan. We have also added to the number of churches serving alongside our ministry and increased our visibility in the community. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’ve gotten to this place through the love, support, and prayers of my family, friends, and church family. The Lord has called me to BIG work but I would struggle to be successful without His strength and the support of my family.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a bumpy road at times. Working in a non-profit setting, funding, and community support and engagement is vital. While at Nurses for Newborns, we had a period where office staff had to decrease hours to ensure the nurses were able to continue visiting those in need.

With Stepping Stones, we depend greatly on the kindness of others and the financial investment from various stakeholders. In September of 2019, we truly believed Stepping Stones doors may need to close. As a board, we met to discuss options and agreed ultimately, this ministry belongs to the Lord and He would either see us through or guide us to close. Either way, we knew it was in His hands. I’m honored to be able to share that we have blossomed, even through a pandemic.

Serving others is also not always a walk in the park. People are hurting and often struggle to believe hope and stability are possible. Others seem to derail themselves with too much success. It can be difficult to convey hope and the possibility of happiness to those who feel things “can’t get worse”. At Stepping Stones, we focus on what the next step can be and then empower women to make decisions for themselves.

Most of the time, women find the resiliency to build relationships and move forward positively. Sometimes, women struggle to believe restoration is possible. They make choices that impede their ability to move forward positively. It’s difficult to watch individuals make decisions that result in a pause from moving to stability. Ultimately, we recognize their individuality and autonomy in decision-making. We know we can’t want something more than the person we’re serving does.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Stepping Stones Safe Haven, Inc?
Stepping Stones’ mission is to assist women and children experiencing homelessness to find their next steps to healing and stability through the love of Jesus Christ. We desire to serve individuals in a holistic way that meets needs for physical, mental, and spiritual health as well as concrete support.

Stepping Stones has three programs, a day shelter with resource navigation, a night shelter, and housing stability support. The day shelter allows women and children to access showers, laundry, meals, and the internet and connect with coaches to find necessary resources for moving forward. The night shelter is limited currently to 12 beds.

While the need is great, we could use more churches partnering with us to help host more. Our housing stability program assists women in developing a plan for moving forward. We can assist with medical visits and medication, childcare, transportation needs, and housing costs. Individuals who connect with the housing stability program remain engaged with coaches for six months or more and receive financial assistance to assist in bridging a gap from deficit to stability.

So often, people can fall right back to homelessness if they do not receive adequate support to change their lifestyle. I’d like to think that’s one of several ways Stepping Stones is different. We have an 80% housing retention rate for those clients who truly engage with our coaches. We have women who were housed four or five years ago who come back to serve or even join our team to give back to those in need. We want to be successful in helping to stop the revolving door of homelessness.

We also want to help the community at large understand that homelessness isn’t just the people sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign. It’s a single mom with two small children living in her car because rent prices increased when her income did not. It’s the older women with health concerns that led to an imbalance of a fixed income and higher costs of living. We serve newborns to women in their late 70s. We serve people with a 6th-grade education and people with a PhD.

Homelessness doesn’t have boundaries. If asked about what I’m most proud of – it would be a combination of the lives changed and the growth our ministry has seen, even amid the pandemic. We are working to increase our capacity programmatically, operationally, and fiscally. Homelessness in Tennessee continues to grow, especially in light of the minimal options for housing that is affordable.

Our small but mighty team is working hard to impact lives one family at a time. We need the help of our community! We need volunteers to help serve in the shelter. We need businesses to partner at a corporate level to help further the work being accomplished. We could use assistance with donations of supplies as well.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
So many lessons learned over the years but I’d say the one I keep coming back to would be while striving for excellence is important for stakeholder relations, there has to be room for grace, not perfection. I’ve adopted a personal motto of “in His grasp, for His glory, by His grace”.

I can often extend grace upon grace to others, but I bully myself for not meeting the highest of expectations. I’m learning that the standard of grace can demonstrate love better than any material need being met. Being consistent in extending this grace to others and myself may be the best way to show love to the community around us. Perfection gets in the way of the day-to-day work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.steppingstonestn.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/steppingstonestn
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/steppingstonestn

Image Credits
City Lifestyle Magazine and Kim Dickson