After more than 40 years in Corporate America, Elizabeth Williams found herself in a transitional period after experiencing a major illness. While volunteering at her grandson’s school, she unexpectedly found the inspiration for what would end up blossoming into a second career.
“I’ve always been passionate about developing people, whether it’s children, whether it’s employees. That’s always been my passion,” Elizabeth says. “So, I just happened to be working in my grandson’s school as a volunteer, and they had an opportunity for a grant to send someone to go learn parenting skills. They taught me everything I know. And I was like, this is wonderful. We should take these services not just to schools, but to organizations and community centers, because we can teach them how to make better life decisions.”
Elizabeth and her son started the organization Alpha and Omega to do just that. Elizabeth conducts classes all across the Kansas City metro area, including at one of Harvesters’ Agency Partners: Second Chance Risk Reduction Center.
Second Chance is a re-entry program for individuals in Jackson County who are on Missouri state supervised probation or parole after being incarcerated. They offer a host of services, including job readiness training, transportation, access to educational programs, access to mental health and substance abuse resources, and educational groups like those led by Elizabeth. They also have a fully stocked pantry onsite to help those in the program who are experiencing food insecurity, which is where Harvesters comes into play, providing much of the food. Elizabeth says the pantry is a major factor in the participants’ success, taking one element off the long list of stressors they are navigating.
“When we’re talking about reentry, somebody needs to help you. You need to have something that’s stable and supportive. So, the foundations that they’re setting to be able to provide those types of services to these individuals are wonderful. Nutrition plays an emotional, physical and sometimes even a spiritual role. You can see it in every realm of their lifestyles. They’re not just serving the mental or the physical, but they’re also serving their souls and feeding them at the same time.”
At Second Chance, Elizabeth spends a lot of her time in group sessions where she coaches the participants in topics like nutrition, healthy relationships and parenting. During these sessions, the group participants often form deep bonds with both her and each other as they learn new skills and get to vocalize things that they may have been carrying their whole lives without being able to talk about.
“The thing I love about them is that they’re so authentic and so transparent, and I try to be the exact same way with them. We all have had struggles, we’ve all had issues, but our issues may be different than their issues. But anyone who tells you they’ve never been through anything, they’re not telling you the truth. I wish that everyone realized that all of us make mistakes. Some make the same mistakes you made, they just get caught. So, we need to look at them as being human beings who are just needing a hand up and help them be successful in their re-entry.”