Overcoming All Obstacles: Nyah Williams’ Story
Single parenthood is a challenge. The struggles of being the only source of support for your child, financially, physically, and emotionally is a full-time job in itself. Nyah Williams has experienced this with the added difficulty of living in public housing with no vehicle.
Nyah experienced a troubled youth. She suffered from depression as a teenager, and got into trouble at school and home, and even lost contact with her family after living in group homes for 6 months. She decided to try living on her own at 18, even though she had virtually no support system in place. “I tried to grow up too fast,” she said.
Nyah always knew she wanted to work in healthcare. She was inspired to do so after witnessing her grandmother’s treatment at a nursing home. She saw the lack of care in these facilities and wanted to do better, not just for her own grandmother, but for other people’s loved ones as well. Since then, she has worked as a CNA and has experience in labor and delivery.
Before becoming pregnant, Nyah spent a lot of time with her friends, partying and blowing off steam. She says that everything shifted into focus after she got pregnant with her son, and knew his father was not going to be in the picture. “I had to do a full detox of my life,” said Nyah.
She was lucky to have secured her place in communal living, and was able to obtain childcare through social services. After the birth of her son, she rebuilt relationships with her mother and siblings. When talking about her family, Nyah said, “This is who’s here for you.” Her mother was also a single mom and had already given up so much to raise her and her siblings. Nyah didn’t want to rely on her mother any more than she had to. “It made me want to go harder for my son,” she said. Nyah still struggled with depression, but wanted to do right by her child.
Nyah was ready to go back to work, but needed pay that she and her son could live on, and better flexibility to care for her him. She’d heard about TAP’s CCMA program from a friend and enrolled.
The challenges didn’t end there. She still had no vehicle, so she was spending much of her money to buy Ubers to and from class. She was missing class to take care of her child and there was even a day when she had to bring him to class with her. While her son’s childcare teacher was flexible with Nyah, the coursework was still difficult, and she considered giving up many times. But she had the best motivation to stay her course.
“God gave me my son at the right time,” Nyah said, talking about how everything played out. Nyah sees all of the struggles she’s faced as opportunity to rise to the challenge, even when it seemed impossible. When asked what her advice would be to someone in a similar situation, Nyah said, “Keep pushing. Follow through to see the end. No matter what.”
Despite juggling school, transportation, and child care, Nyah’s hard work paid off. She graduated the CCMA program and now makes the most of any graduate of the program living in Virginia. She is even starting therapy to improve her mental health.
She still faces some similar struggles. However, now she has new goals and better ways to reach them. Moving forward, Nyah is saving money to get her own vehicle and move out of public housing. She still values her independence and wants to “Be more self-sufficient, happy, and stable.”
Nyah is a testament to resilience and determination, and especially the strength of love for one’s child. She overcame so much to get to where she is, and everyone at TAP, especially the CCMA Instructor, Diana Talmadge, is proud of her. Her transformation shows the importance of TAP’s programs to people like Nyah, who have strength and resolve to reach their goals in the face of any challenge.