Detroit woman overcomes drug addiction, homelessness to earn diploma
From living on the streets to battling a drug addiction, 46-year-old Ayesha Muhammad of Detroit has earned her high school diploma thanks to the local nonprofit Empowerment Plan.
"It just feels awesome because I've been trying to get this for a very long time," Muhammad said.
In her youth, Muhammad says she was a star athlete until an injury sidelined her dreams.
"I played four sports in school: volleyball, track and basketball. I used to average 25 points a game; after I had a knee injury, it all went downhill," Muhammad said. "My career was like over, you know, and I turned to the streets, so I started selling drugs and things of that sort. I dropped out of school."
Muhammad was introduced to drugs.
"I was hanging out with somebody that I thought was my friend, and he gave me a laced blunt. And ever since then, I was smoking crack cocaine," Muhammad said. "I was homeless, living on the streets, just getting up every day to hustle and get high."
It led her down a dangerous path, including homelessness and two stints in prison.
"I went to prison this last time; I'm like, 'I'm not going back.' You know, I'm tired of that life. I ask God, if he gets me out of this situation, if this changes. I'm going up from there," Muhammad said.
During a shelter stay, Muhammad learned about the Empowerment Plan.
The nonprofit makes coats that turn into sleeping bags for people experiencing homelessness. The organization hired her as a sewing technician.
"She said to us, 'All I need is a chance to prove what I can do, and I promise I will not let you down,'" said Vanita Sanders, vice president of programs & workforce development for the Empowerment Plan. "Aisha is really dedicated not to just her own sobriety, but her making a change that will affect other people."
She's kept that promise, becoming one of the nonprofit's top producers.
"I see these people with these coats on; I let them know, 'It just feels so good to see you wearing something that I helped produce.' You know what I'm saying. It's just a blessing, like it really is, because I was once, I was once in the same spot as them," Muhammad said.
Through the Empowerment Plan, Muhammad enrolled in Pro-Literacy Detroit.
"She was very doubtful of her ability to retain the information because of all of the drug use in her past. But just like she said, it's like, one day she came into tutoring, and it just all clicked," Dena Williamson, Program Director, Pro-Literacy Detroit, said. "She's the first one to graduate out of our program. So, pride is what I feel, happiness, joy from the fact that not only do I have a student, but I had made a new friend."
It's a program by a mother-daughter duo that provides tutoring to help people get their high school diploma or GED.
"The tutoring sessions are not just tutoring; they're also mentorship, because each of our tutors is a professional and successful. So that is a role model for the students, and they come to us so motivated to be successful; the synergy is just electric, and so we enjoy being here to do it," Margaret Williamson, President of Pro-Literacy Detroit, said.
Now Ayesha sits with professionals to learn about job opportunities.
"I want to make a career. So my next thing is to go get my chauffeur's license so I can try to DDOT a bus," Muhammad said.
A true inspiration that you're never too old to earn a diploma, and the past does not define you.
"Just don't give up. You know, if you're in a tough position, it's people out here to help you. If you're able to rebuild your support back up, stick with it, like it's possible to get on the right track. I'm a living example, like, for real," Muhammad said.