Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Martin.
Hi Julia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started out as the Case Manager for Faithful Love when I obtained my MS in Clinical Mental Health and Rehabilitative Counseling. I chose to enter into the area of trauma and addiction counseling after the loss of some family members due to trauma and addiction. I started this chapter of my life at the age of 50. My youngest daughter will be joining me later in March as our new Case Manager and Day House Manager and will be teaching the budgeting and job readiness programs. She has a culinary arts degree from Coastal Community College and will receive her BBA from Kennesaw this spring.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not always. The population we serve all have chronic episodes of homelessness, continued trauma and abuse, and struggle with addiction. It is sometimes frustrating to see others in our community view these precious children of God as lacking morals, willpower, or just as dispensable. Many of the women are caught up in legal struggles, and we try to work law enforcement and the court system to alter the view and make changes to what is standard treatment for addiction to tailor to the specific types of traumas and abuse our participants have faced, many since early childhood.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At the age of 53, I earned my MS in Clinical Mental Health and Rehabilitative Counseling. My father, a retired businessman and holder of an MS in Theoretical Physics, hooded me at my graduation ceremony. My husband and my adult children are my biggest supporters. What I am most known for, maybe with my friends and colleagues, is, and I hope, my tenacity. I will knock on as many doors as I need to get our message and mission statement across. Faithful Love and the women associated with it have given me the chance to make changes to how society views those most vulnerable among us. I want people to know that when someone reaches age 18, she is still vulnerable, and there is no magic dust that now makes her circumstances and abuse or addictions a life choice. We are here to lift these women up and give them hope and the wrap-around support they deserve. That is what I want Faithful Love and myself to be remembered for. We are set apart because we work with the adult population. There was no early intervention available to most of the women we work with like those programs available now. Trafficking was not seen for what it is, and we want to make a difference.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
We have been blessed to have the best faith partners in the State of Georgia. We have those who partner financially, those who help us stock our pantry, clothing, grants to better our house and our programs. We have the best volunteers in both the medical fields and the counseling arena who work tirelessly with us to keep making a difference. This area of Brunswick is great in that every church denomination is willing to pull together to help those most in need and put actual skin in the game.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.faithfullovega.org
- Instagram: @faithfullovega
- Facebook: faithfullovega
Image Credits
Haleigh Jinkins
