For Houston-area family law attorney Keisha Amos, helping families through divorce, custody disputes and child support issues is more than just part of her job. It\u2019s personal.<\/p>\n
Amos says she went through a divorce early in her life and remembers feeling alone during the transition to single parenthood.<\/p>\n
That experience inspired her to launch the Amos Advocates Community Foundation; a new nonprofit focused on connecting families with resources and support as they navigate major changes at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here. We\u2019re trying to come up with programming to help,\u201d Amos said.<\/p>\n
The foundation recently held its first major community initiative. A back-to-school backpack and school supply drive for families in the Pearland area.<\/p>\n
Board members say organizing the event took weeks of planning, fundraising and community outreach.<\/p>\n
Tabitha Haynes, the foundation\u2019s treasurer, said the group was formed earlier this year and quickly began working toward its first community event.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone on the board has their unique talents and unique abilities,\u201d Haynes said. \u201cWe were able to kind of bring all that together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation also leaned on community members to help provide backpacks and school supplies.<\/p>\n
Dr. Lala Elapano, the foundation\u2019s secretary, said the response was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community poured into this organization,\u201d Elapano said.<\/p>\n
She went on to share how the group wanted to begin by giving back to the same community that has supported Amos and her law firm.<\/p>\n
The foundation\u2019s board brings together professionals from several fields, including law, education, mental health and child services.<\/p>\n
That range of experience is intentional, Amos said. She wants the organization to offer help that goes beyond what a family law attorney can provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only do so much as an attorney,\u201d Amos said. \u201cI wanted to have an organization that I could put together that could fill in the gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
A FOCUS BEYOND LEGAL SERVICES:<\/p>\n
Those gaps could include access to counseling, educational resources and other community services.<\/p>\n
Haynes said the foundation is already looking at programs that could support both parents and children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of different resources which will benefit the community in so many different ways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Those plans include counseling resources, legal assistance and programs designed to help children stay active and address issues such as anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n
Clarissa Givens, a foundation director and school counselor, said the back-to-school drive is just the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that this event is the starting of something great,\u201d Givens said.<\/p>\n
Givens said working with children has shown her firsthand that some students enter the school year facing challenges outside the classroom.<\/p>\n
The foundation wants those children to know they have support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want them to know that no matter what, there\u2019s always someone out there pulling for them,\u201d Haynes said.<\/p>\n
MORE PROGRAMS PLANNED:<\/p>\n
The foundation also plans to create programming specifically for single parents.<\/p>\n
Amos says one upcoming idea is \u201cDominoes with Dads,\u201d a gathering where single fathers can connect and talk about co-parenting, custody and adjusting to spending less time with their children after a divorce.<\/p>\n
The organization also plans a holiday community drive later this year.<\/p>\n
Givens encouraged others in the Pearland area to get involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe back-to-school drive is not the ending; it\u2019s the beginning of something great,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For Amos, the larger goal is to make sure parents going through difficult transitions don\u2019t feel like they have to navigate them alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want people to understand that I\u2019m here, that my board is here, that we\u2019re trying to build something that we hope can help the community at large,\u201d Amos said.<\/p>\n