SUFFOLK, Va. — A Suffolk nonprofit is helping people create a better life.
Since 2019, S.T.A.R. Haven, Inc. has helped people become stable and self-sufficient.
"S.T.A.R. stands for 'supporting, transforming, achieving results,'" said founding member and President Kianna Boone.
Volunteers work to combat issues like homelessness.
"We have single individuals. They come into a fully furnished home to get on their feet while they're waiting on things," said vice president and founding member Shahe Peele. "They can stay as long as they want."
The nonprofit also addresses food insecurity in the community.
"I would say we've actually donated around about 300,000 pounds of food in three years," said board member Raymond Felton. "The whole thing is to be a blessing to somebody."
Boone said the nonprofit can provide personal services when needed to help people thrive.
"If they need clothes, we have donations and we work with other community partners to get items to them and toiletry items as well," Boone said. "If they're in need of job services, we work with Suffolk Workforce Development."
The group hopes to help people rise above their circumstances and build a brighter future.
"We start them from the beginning, whatever they need when they're coming in, and we ease them along," Peele said.
"Now, you have a group of people or a community that were considered outcasts or different now being self-sufficient, independent, and productive citizens," Boone said.