U-Londa Hicks, Director of Meal Ministry at Refuge of Hope

Sounds of gun shots in U-Londa Hicks’ Chicago neighborhood. Everyday someone pulled the trigger. She was scared to walk outside. Catch the train. Take her kids to school. She didn’t finish high school. Baby at 15. She quit school and worked. Had two more babies. She worked to feed her kids.

She never travelled. Only visited Milwaukee a few times. And lived in Chicago. What other options did she have? Always hustling. Taking care of her kids. Paying rent. Keeping the electricity on.

Twenty-three years passed since she had the first baby. U-Londa’s cousin called from Ohio and told her she would have a better life there. A better life for her kids. She quit her job. Left her apartment. Left everything behind. Only took what she could carry.

That’s when the drinking started – in Ohio. She didn’t have a job or any friends. U-Londa lived in a lonely world and found comfort in a bottle. When her two younger kids left for school in the morning, she walked to the grocery store to buy her daily beer. She drank all day until they came home. Made dinner. Helped them with homework. Then drank all evening.

Until she got involved with Refuge of Hope and served hungry men, women and children.

U-Londa started working at Refuge of Hope in order to keep her benefits through welfare. She worked during the day and drank at night. Two years passed and she kept the same routine. But heavy drinking has a way of catching up with you. On Sept. 6, 2013, a blood clot burst in her throat. Doctors told her she had five minutes to call her family. She prayed instead. After five days, she woke up from a medically-induced coma and never touched alcohol again. That was seven years ago.

U-Londa has been on staff with Refuge of Hope since 2014, working in the kitchen.  “My coworkers are like my family. I’ve had some battles that I probably wouldn’t been able to handle if I didn’t have them to come to,” she said.

Three years ago her supervisor walked into the kitchen. Offered her a promotion: Director of Meal Ministry.

U-Londa oversees the meal ministry operations, manages the kitchen staff and recently moved into a bigger home for her and her sons.

Meal ministry assistant Melva Milberry has worked in the kitchen with U-Londa for almost one year. “We have a great team … we’re all multi-transitional in-regards to the positions and things that we can do. If you take one of us out, we know how to pick up the pieces and run with it.”

U-Londa shared her story at a recent Refuge of Hope banquet and talked about Faye, a Refuge of Hope regular. Faye lost her husband five years ago and went through some hard times. U-Londa embraced her with a hug and gave her a bus pass so she could get to her new job.

“Seeing the faces of these people that come in every day made me feel like I was needed,” she said.