Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Williams.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Hope. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
For me, this story has been decades in the making. My mother died when I was six years old and my grandmother died when I was 26, so there were 20 years between the first two significant deaths that I experienced. When my grandmother died, I was old enough to understand and really feel grief, and it was rough!
At the time of my grandmother’s death, my niece was really young and I had a hard time accepting that children her age really experience what I, as an adult, was having such a hard time handling. I had been thinking about how to allow my experiences related to my mother’s death to help me help others, but had not really figured out how that would look. Once I experienced loss at a time where I could feel it and understand the impact, the decision kind of made itself. I enrolled in a graduate program for counseling because I desperately wanted to work with children who had lost a parent.
So, stay with me as I fast forward to today. I am a graduate of Mercer University, licensed as a professional counselor, and doing what I initially set out to do, plus some! In 2016, I founded S.M.I.L.E. Project Support Services, LLC and I have been working hard to grow the organization since then. S.M.I.L.E. is an acronym for “significant moments impact lives eternally.” My significant moments have included death. I have come to realize the story is not the same for everyone, but we all have significant moments. These are the moments that shape and define us, and they can also motivate us if we allow ourselves to be used for a greater purpose.
Through this phenomenal organization, I do counseling in a private practice setting with children and teens to address a broad range of challenges. I also plan and host events that are designed with the intention of helping attendees create significant moments. I love what I do and am so grateful to be able to offer this type of experience to the people in my community!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I can’t say that the road to this point has been smooth, and I also wouldn’t say I wish it was. The experiences that led to this decision were bumpy, for sure; and, those experiences have allowed me to believe in what I’m doing even more. We don’t typically get to choose our significant moments, but we can make some decisions about how we move on from them. I truly believe that the bumps along the way have made me stronger and more determined to pursue this passion with everything in me! That type of drive and determination doesn’t come from an easy path.
Given the nature of my story, there have naturally been difficult points along the way. I would say the process to find my true fit in this field has been a challenge. I have worked in private practice, psychiatric facilities, provided services in the client’s homes, and worked as a counselor for groups. There have been multiple job assignments that left me feeling overcommitted and underappreciated, but I have stayed true to what my grandmother taught me. With each experience, I have looked for a lesson so that time spent anywhere was never wasted.
Please tell us about S.M.I.L.E. Project Support Services, LLC.
I am most proud of the way this organization has allowed me to pour into the lives of others.
The past year will be remembered as a year of “firsts” for S.M.I.L.E. Project. In May, I hosted the first annual “Tea in Celebration of Girls and the Women They Love.” This was a phenomenal event with over 115 women and girls, spanning four generations, who gathered for a tea that reflected a message of self-empowerment. December brought a Holiday Party and Angel tree in honor of 15 children who have experienced the death of a parent. The party and gifts served as an exciting, and inclusive, moment in the lives of the children and their surviving parent/guardian because it allowed them to celebrate the holiday season with other children who could make their situation feel “normal,” even if only for a day. Finally, in February of this year, I hosted the first vision board party for roughly 20 attendees with a goal of planning for 2019 differently. Guest panelists in the areas of physical health, mental health, finance, and real estate were on site to provide information related to setting and achieving goals in their various disciplines. Attendees left the event better equipped to achieve goals that have potential to be life-changing. I am excited because I feel like I am just getting started!
I am currently planning for the second tea for May 11, 2019, a dance to bring together fathers and daughters, and a daylong event to uplift and inspire girls of color. I am also looking forward to the Angel Tree and Vision Board parties being annual events as well.
Through mental health counseling, I have been trusted by many families to help children through some difficult situations and I am grateful to have had those experiences. It is amazing to journey with them as they sort through life and the twists it can bring.
I believe the way that my professional service pairs uniquely with the intentional message of the events is what sets this organization apart.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That is a tough question because I feel like I have grown from the mistakes and missteps. Consequently, I don’t know that I would trade what experience has taught me. I realize that this could have been more profitable, financially, if I would have pursued some different partnerships for professional services and taken more time to do research before making various commitments. I am learning and have gotten better in these areas!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1827 Powers Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30339 - Website: www.smileprojectempowers.com
- Phone: 404-695-5258
- Email: info@smileprojectempowers.com
- Instagram: s.m.i.l.e.project
- Facebook: @smileprojectempowers
Image Credit:
Charmaine Edwards Photography, Lennard Delvin Photography
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