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Misfits Mission helps women fresh out of jail
A Houston woman founded Misfits Mission, an organization focusing on helping women out of jail to get physically, spiritually, and mentally fit. FOX 26's Melissa Wilson spoke with the founder, Tyler Coleman, who turned her own painful past into a guiding other women.
HOUSTON - 'A woman in Houston is turning her painful past into a healthy future for women who have been incarcerated. She's offering them a second chance at life at the Hiding Place. "My parents divorced when I was 8 and though that process, I was very hurt and didn't understand it and at a young age, I turned to drugs," explains Tyler Coleman.
She recently brought a beautiful home to life that she calls "The Hiding Place", after a rough start in her own life. She says it all began with problems at home that led to a drug addiction and one arrest after another.
"A total of 16 (arrests). While I was on the streets, I had several guns held to my head, was almost choked to death, and I attempted suicide at one point. I had no identification, I had no money, I had no clothes, my car had been impounded. Every time I would get out, I would just go back to the streets. I just went back to what I knew," explains Coleman.
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She finally hit rock-bottom after her 16th stay behind bars and moved in with her mom. Her mom encouraged her to join a rehabilitation and drug addiction program. She refused that but agreed to her mom's suggestion that they start working out together, but her body wasn't ready for that, sparking drama while on the elliptical on her first day at the gym. "I passed out, hit my head on the machine, was knocked unconscious, had to be rushed to the emergency room at $4,000 in medical bills and staples in my head and I hadn't even been out of jail a week yet," states Coleman.
It was a setback, but she didn't allow it to slow her down. She kept going back to the gym and working with a trainer, who encouraged her to get her own personal training certificate. She did and started participating in bodybuilding competitions. She turned her life around. "The Lord was really was really working on me all through that process and He was just showing me that you can be physically fit, but if you're not spiritually or mentally fit, you're out of alignment," says Coleman.
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Along the way, she says God spoke a word to her that she tried to figure out. It was "misfit." She realized she wasn't a misfit, but rather Ms. Fit, which led to her starting the non-profit "Misfit's Mission." She opened the lovely home, she nicknamed The Hiding Place, to help other women, fresh from behind bars, to also get physically, spiritually, and mentally fit.
Signs of faith are everywhere in the home! Now ladies like Amanda are benefitting from it. Amanda says she had nowhere else to go when she got out of prison for addiction problems. She says it's a loving, comforting, safe haven, and she's thrilled to live here for a year and a half, while she reorganizes her life and plans for her future.
"What happens here is very healing, very peaceful, and has allowed me to get a strong foundation. Coming to the Hiding Place has been amazing because Tyler has walked beside me, and she's been there. I have two children and just knew that I wanted more out of life, I know they deserve better," explains Amanda.
Her schedule helps prepare her to be with her children again and she enjoys video calls with them from the pretty house. They have a full schedule that keeps them very busy. "We have the Misfits workout in the morning. Then we do devotional praise and worship together and then, one of the girls is working and I'll be going to school. I'm also looking for a part-time job, and on the weekends, we go to church. We have house church on Wednesday nights, another night, a volunteer comes in and we do Bible study, Bible journaling," shares Amanda.
They get to bring food to life in a bountiful garden in the backyard and workout in a gym in the garage. However, Coleman wants to take it to the next level, already securing a space nearby for an indoor gym. She hopes the ladies will not only work-out there, but also get to work there. She hopes to make it a for-profit to help support the non-profit, The Hiding Place.
She hopes that would offer ladies another chance to brush-up their job skills at the same time and she's hopeful investors, like the ones who helped start it all, will help bring the dream to life. The program lasts for a year to 18-months to help women get set for a successful future.
To find out about how you can help their mission head to their website here.