Ms. Sylvia Wiggins, Director, Helping Hand Mission

[Interview Excerpts]

“ From day one, from the time I was born and found out my mother had died, I had hostility. The fact other people around me had a mother and I didn’t have a father, no mother, it had me feeling some kind of way about it. You're not born with a silver spoon in your mouth and you don’t have the support of a parental person. But later on I had dreams. I didn’t know if my dreams would come true, but said I love music, dancing, people coming together. This was a passion for me.

In middle school, the people in the band in my area, everyone was light skinned. I used to take a little stick and would twirl it and wanted to be a majorette. That was one of my passions and things ricocheted from there. After highschool, I came to Raleigh from Warrenton, and do you know only had just eleven dollars with me? I didn’t have anywhere to go, so got on the bus. Four dollars and eight cents of that was to get on the bus. So seven dollars were to fend for myself. But on the bus I said ‘prostitution is not an option, drugs are not an option and throwing my life away is not an option.'

When I got in Raleigh, I walked around with no place to stay or go. My whole job was a struggle to survive. I went to the police station and they took me to a home for women. I stayed there two weeks and came out at Moore Square, where the homeless people are, and talked to people. My goal was to try to find a job and they told me about this restaurant up the street. I worked there to get enough to get on my feet and move to the YWCA. From then on was able to try to hold my coins and to always hold onto something to have. 

Things gradually got better. I was able to enjoy life. I would see young people though that didn’t have. One day I was sitting with a girl in her 20’s. She was crying and didn't have anywhere to go. I told her my story…how my mamma died in childbirth, how when I came to Raleigh how much I had. She said u did? And that really inspired her to do good. She stayed with me for a little while and then got on her feet, went on, got married and had three kids. And through the years we really got to be good friends. 

What happened was I was able to fortunately start my dream. And my dream was to help other people going through what I was going through. Do you know that people going through what I did have committed suicide, have gone to prostitution, have gotten on drugs? They throw the towel in because a lot of times it is much easier to take the low road than to take the high road. The low road is full of people. The high road is hard but it is true. It’s what gets you going.

And through the inspiration of that, I was able to create the Helping Hand Mission. The idea was to join hands to support families in need. A lot of time there are people who need things, but they don’t know how to go get it. A lot of time people are too embarrassed to ask...but I’ll ask for you.

This has been a great ride for me. I had a dream that we could do some of the great things we’ve done. I see everybody progressing, everybody doing well, people coming in with new ideas. It’s a passion to me, a way of life, a calling. When I get up I don’t feel like I’m going to work. I’m going to the mission. I’m at home. “