CINCINNATI — An Ohio mother is making it her mission to empower women after surviving a shooting.
Lenise Williams says the scar on the side of her head is a reminder of what she went through years earlier, which caused multiple other health problems.
“Bullets were ricocheting everywhere and one actually came inside the apartment and grazed me, left a hole in my head,” said Williams. “I needed 13 stitches to survive.”
She said she remembers her mother reminded her of something vital during that time.
“My mom remained like prompting me saying, ‘Hey, you need to take care of yourself. you need to take care of yourself, you need to take care of yourself,’” said Williams.
That’s part of what she says helped her recover.
“Little by little, one thing here, master that thing,” Williams said. “Then master this, then master that, then master this and now I have a health routine that’s sustaining me.”
But the busy mother of two and caretaker to her own mother said too many times that doesn’t always happen that way.
“I think especially Black women don’t hear that enough that we deserve to take care of ourselves,” said Williams. “I don’t think sometimes we understand that it may be systemically rooted in a self-esteem issue.”
She started a Facebook group called Black Moms Thriving and a business called Nourishment, making empowering women her full-time job.
The group and business focus on healthy eating, meditation, exercise and life coaching.
It’s something she hopes will help the same way it did for her.
“I definitely want us to know that we are worth it,” said Williams. “The time, the energy, the money, the sweat equity that it takes to take care of ourselves.”
Find more information from the World Health Organization on ways to self-care by clicking here.
