History
2005 – The Dream
Early in 2005, Brenda Smith-Williams had a dream about a dream. For years she had wanted to create a residential substance abuse program where intensive, individualized treatment would address each client’s root cause of addiction. The word “DREAMS” appeared to Brenda in this particular dream and when she awoke, God revealed to her that it was not just a word, but an acronym—Drug Related: Education, Addiction and Mental health Services. Knowing that God does not give a vision without giving provision, Brenda and her husband Kenny set out to make this dream a reality.
In June of 2005, after months of looking at small office spaces, they found the property at 620 Martin St. They discovered the property was owned by Mt. Zion Baptist Church. After several meetings with Bishop George Brooks and Bro. Otis Wilson, they received the keys to the building on June 9, 2005 with the promise of a rent-free 10-year lease and an option to purchase the property.
But from an outsider’s point of view, this must have looked more like a nightmare than a dream. The building, which had been abandoned for several years, had fallen into disrepair and ruin. There are really no words to adequately describe the appearance or the stench of the facility.
But as the visionary, Brenda only saw the property and the building as already transformed. She and Kenny would invest more than $150,000 of their own money into the restoration. With the help of volunteers, they devoted countless hours of “sweat equity” to the cause, from cleaning to installing tile and carpet to painting to landscaping to numerous other backbreaking tasks.
After months and months of arduous and difficult labor, the building and the property did become transformed. In addition, work was being done to ensure that other logistical requirements were being met as well. In December of 2005, DREAMS received its 501(c)3 non-profit designation. But as word spread throughout the neighborhood that a substance abuse treatment facility was coming, Brenda’s dream was about to be challenged is ways she could not have foreseen.
And she was also about to face the greatest personal challenge of her life.
2006 – The Reality
2006 was to have been the year that DREAMS would begin serving clients, but there were yet more challenges to overcome. The first test came from the neighborhood, which vehemently opposed having a treatment facility come into their community. Then a visit to the Zoning Committee, which should have easily given us one of the certificates that we needed to open, ended up denying our submission. However, after some research, we discovered that our program met all the standing zoning requirements for the building. But because of the media attention, there were more setbacks in neighborhood relations. The lesson learned—keep the neighborhood involved with our plans. Thus began a concerted effort to interact with our neighbors on a regular basis.
We were notified in late September that we would be receiving two financial blessings that would provide a foundation for our financial stability. A grant from the MCWL Community Health Foundation and a contract with The Guilford Center were each valued at $40,000, but their intangible impact cannot not be measured.
The celebration of these successful ventures would be fleeting for Brenda, however, as she was to receive a phone call that would inform her of her mother’s worsening illness. On October 23, 2006, within days of receiving that call, Brenda’s beloved mother passed away. Yet in the midst of this devastating loss, her steps did not falter. In the midst of her broken heartedness, her faith and her conviction increased. In the midst of her grief, she would later realize that she was being prepared for what was to come in this work.
Two days after burying her mother, Brenda met with officials from The Guilford Center to finalize the contract, which had been offered prior to DREAMS opening to serve clients. Brenda would herself say that it was her own personal tragedy that gave her the strength to persevere in the fight to open DREAMS.
And as 2006 came to a close, DREAMS—through the tireless and unending work and contributions of its co-founders—had fiscal stability, a rent-free facility, qualified staff and a waiting list for clients. But there was one more stumbling block that had to be overcome before the dream of DREAMS could become a reality.
2007 – Practicing What We Preach
After an emotional 2006, Brenda and Kenny were anxious to begin doing the work that God had been preparing them to do. The next battle they would face would be to secure state licensing. After completing forms, providing documentation and even driving documents to Raleigh, it seemed that things were at a standstill. With the new opening date of April 15 looming closer and closer, people came into our path to keep us moving forward.
Senator Kay Hagan and Representative Pricey Harrison both called the licensing agency directly on behalf of DREAMS and in March 2007 we received our licensure. We were initially approved to serve up to eight clients at a time in our residential program. Though the process had delayed our initial opening date, we now know things were moving right on time!
A few weeks prior to the opening, Brenda spoke to a group of local African American pastors about the devastating effect of substance abuse in the community. She told them that the Church was not doing enough to reach out to this population. Her boldness and passion moved several of the pastors that were there that day. Pastor James Fisher would bring one of his members to enroll in DREAMS on the day we opened for treatment and he and his wife have stayed involved, volunteering weekly at DREAMS. Another, Pastor Michael Smith, teaches a weekly bible study class and is currently the chair of our Board of Directors.
As opening day quickly approached, Brenda and Kenny had already laid the groundwork for a relationship with The Piedmont Triad Farmer’s Market and the Food Lion on Fleming Road through The Second Harvest Food Bank. Their passion for their work moved those they talked with and each business began making weekly donations to DREAMS beginning April 14.
When DREAMS opened to four clients on April 15, we were finally able to serve and to fulfill our mission. Several clients were homeless; one presented with his probation officer; each was addicted to crack; three were black, one white; two were female and two male. By the end of 2007, we had served almost 100 clients across all spectrums of diversity.
2007 also saw the installation of an HVAC system in the facility, additional grant funding, a contact with Federal Probation and the groundwork for the ability to bill Medicaid, in addition to a myriad of trials and tribulations; joys and successes. But we could not have imagined the blessings that 2008 would continue to bring.
2008 – The Work
Much of the progress that has occurred since 2005, has been a specific product of hard work, desire and prayer. But some of the outcomes that have occurred have been unexpected blessings of this work.
For example, the food donations that come in on a weekly basis often exceed what can be utilized at DREAMS. We redistribute this abundance to needy individuals in our community, so that nothing goes to waste. The bulk of the food is picked up by volunteers who provide meals to those who are homeless.
Another example came as a result of a Councilwoman Diane Bellamy-Small informing Brenda about a company who wanted to implement ankle-bracelet monitoring in Guilford County. After a brief relationship with the company, DREAMS formed a collaboration with Ken Hewett, a district attorney who had worked with the monitoring company. After leaving the company, he and several other DAs formed a placement service. Since early 2008, DREAMS has received 2-3 clients a month from this referral source.
Concerning our contract with The Guilford Center for 2007-08, we were not even half way through the fiscal year when we had “pulled down” the entire amount. Because of the overwhelming need for services and the quality of care provided at DREAMS, our contract was increased twice and we ended the fiscal year with the contract having more than doubled its value.
In June 2008, Dennis Butler, who oversees placement for the NC Middle District of Federal Probation, brought representatives from other districts for a site visit. He is recommending to his colleagues that they begin referring clients to DREAMS as well and we will increase our Federal Probation contract by the end of this year.
Since April 2007, DREAMS has served clients from more than 13 counties in North Carolina and from states as far away as California, while honoring our commitment to serve one indigent client each month. And as God continues to “enlarge our territory,” we will continue to do the Kingdom work He has assigned us to do. We believe that He is continuing to call us higher. We believe that all of the personal and professional struggles have prepared us for all that He has in store for us. We believe that the best— for DREAMS, for our clients, for our collaborating partners, for our staff and for everyone who is involved with DREAMS—is yet to come!