Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonia Tewell.
Hi Tonia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In 2005, my whole world changed after a terminal diagnosis of cancer. It was stage 4 and all over my body. I was on “what I thought” could be my deathbed when I began to pray for more time to be with my husband and 1,3, and 6-year-old daughters. I bargained with God that if he gave me more time, I would serve him in whatever capacity he wanted and with whatever time I had left. Well, I left the hospital and began to fight the cancer. In a couple of years, I was finally in remission when I received an email asking if we would be willing to use our home as a safe house for those leaving polygamy. I remembered my prayer and the time I was granted, thus I said yes.
Sometime in 2007, we took in a family of 6, leaving their polygamous lifestyle. Families filled our home from that point forward for 3 years – including a time when we had 16 people and 12 children in our home. You can only imagine what our neighbors thought. I have always lived my life in a way that left people alone to live the life they chose. After taking in multiple families and listening to their personal stories, I learned that for many, this life was not a choice but something they were born into and didn’t know any other way to live. I learned that many didn’t own anything – the church controlled it all. Child labor and sexual exploitation were common, education was a low priority and that they are taught to fear the outside world and that if they didn’t remain a part of the community that they could be condemned to hell or worse – outer darkness. The first family we spoke to said there were no agencies that specialized in providing resources for people from polygamy and asked if we would start a non-profit organization. We said yes. Holding Out HELP was born. HELP stands for helping, encouraging, and loving polygamists. We anticipated this to remain a small “mom and pop” shop -fifteen years later, we still remain.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This job has never been easy. Trying to find funding is a constant battle to keep our agency open but more importantly, hearing these horrific stories day in and day out tends to cause secondary trauma for our staff and a lot of sleepless nights. It is all worth it when you see these resilient clients adjusting and succeeding in life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I love what I do. Coming from a very dysfunctional family growing up and seeing the impact that unconditional love and acceptance did for me allowed me to have compassion for others. When I see a need, I want to fill it. So I always had the drive to want to serve our community. When I began this agency, I was told that providing a full-service agency would be impossible and we would fail. I was super nervous but knew we could not do this without offering everything a refugee coming in from another country might need, as these clients come from closed communities and do not know how to navigate our competitive environment. I am super proud we have been able to provide a full-service agency thanks to our volunteer base, agency partners, and dedicated team for over 15 years now.
Our agency offers food, clothing, shelter, and safety. Once those basic needs are met, the client is able to dream about what their future can be. Holding Out HELP partners with other agencies to offer job skills, and education and we also have a counseling division that offers mental health support.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
It is rather sad but because of the trauma in my childhood, I do not have many positive memories. My overactive brain only had the capacity to determine how to survive, I do remember when I learned to drive, I loved to drive with the windows down, playing loud music as it gave me a sense of freedom and allowed me to distance myself from what was happening in my home life. I still love this feeling today!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.holdingouthelp.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/holdingouthelp
- Facebook: Holding Out HELP
- Youtube: youtube.com/HoldingOutHELPinc
Image Credits
2nd pic – client receives a car from a generous donor
3rd pic – Wes Richins with Richins Engineering volunteering to put security on a client’s home
