Housing Assistance Series 1/2: Louise Kekulah — From Liberia to Princeton
In July, according to the census bureau nearly 25 million people reported they had little to no confidence they would be able to pay rent in the next month and almost 30 million people said they didn’t have enough to eat.
Without federal intervention, housing experts and advocates warn of an unprecedented wave of eviction in the coming month and one far more devastating than the 2008 crisis.
Today I am releasing a series of two episodes on housing assistance.
In this episode, I speak with Louise Kekulah, a woman who grew up in Liberia, Africa. Moved by herself in the US as a child. Had a baby, graduated from Rutgers, and now works as a counselor for families at risk of losing their children.
The fact that Louise is very bright and highly driven probably explains how she managed to do so well. Yet, she says that the Housing Initiatives of Princeton has changed her life and allowed her to bounce back and secure a better carrier. You will hear Louise mention Carol.
In part two I then speak with Carol Golden the chair of Housing Initiatives of Princeton and also a member of the Affordable Housing Board of Princeton.
Transcript
Stanislas Berteloot 0:31
Thank you so much for accepting to share your story with me, and with Back in America.
Louise 0:38
Yes, it’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. When I joined HIP, I graduated from undergrad and then I had a baby. Right now I work for a center integrated health. I’m a counselor.
Stanislas Berteloot 0:54
I wonder if you can take me back to a very, very old story for you. Before you move to the US, I know you moved when you were seven. Did you have any memories of your country, of Liberia?
Louise 1:10
Very little, I have very little memories of my country. Um, I do recall that there was a war going on back there. And so in order to escape the war, my family stayed like my my mom stayed. My entire family stayed, except for me. So we had my mom had brought me over with one of her friends on to a refugee program. back then. I don’t know if you heard of DACA. Back then it was really easy to come into the United States. Unlike now. My memory of back home isn’t very fond, honestly.
Unknown Speaker 2:00
Yeah, what? Tell me more.
Louise 2:03
So I left my family. We went to what do we go? I think we went to Ivory Coast because we were there for quite some time. Um, and I was what? When I left my mom, I want to say I was about five or six. Because we came to this country February, I remember was February 14. I’ll never forget it, because it’s always Valentine’s Day, February 14 2001. So I think I’ve been here for what, like about 19 years. So when we went to Ivory Coast, I was I was probably there for a few months, and then we came on a plane. And when I landed here, it was actually my first time seeing snow. It’s like I it doesn’t snow. You know, it doesn’t snow back home. So the call it was a culture shock for me. Honestly, they didn’t take me a while to adapt Cuz like I know like once I started school like once I cuz I um I actually used to live in Ewing so when we first when we first got here not when we first got here we were in Hamilton because I attended Greenwood elementary school and there I got a lot of help with like because you know my English wasn’t really well. So I got like a lot of ESL help and things like that but I was always bright for lack of better words so I’ve always had like this mindset of just like striving and not giving up. So not being able to like I had difficulties understanding the teachers they try to sent me they try to put me back a grade but that that didn’t happen because I was able to just like adapt. So like I would go home and take the extra time to just like Studying and I remember just being envious of other kids in the classroom and things like that. So
it didn’t take a while to adapt at all, to the American culture.
Stanislas Berteloot 4:14
And so your mom moved back to Liberia, or did she stay with you?
Louise 4:18
She’s not my mom’s state. My mom has always she’s on. She’s back in Liberia.
Stanislas Berteloot 4:23
So what happened? Because you moved here, were you on your own? No,
Louise 4:27
I was actually with a friend of my mom, a very good friend of hers.
Stanislas Berteloot 4:31
Was it tough for you to be alone? Not seven.
Louise 4:35
Yeah. Um, but back then.
It wasn’t as tough back then as it is now. To be honest, now, it’s really tough. But back then I always had, like, moral support. Um, I had support as a kid. I can genuinely say that Did so it wasn’t like, and my mom did really well in terms of communication. So imagine from seven up until now, like she, she kept she kept in contact with me and she still does. So that helped a lot too.
Unknown Speaker 5:17
Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 5:20
So you just said now it’s tough. Yeah. Why is it tough?
Louise 5:26
I would say, you know, with a baby, and lack of support.
Definitely needing my mom. I see a lot more now.
Stanislas Berteloot 5:39
Yeah. So that brings us to, to that situation right? The the baby but maybe before we get there, I wonder if you can take me back to high school and then moving on to college. That was a good time for you. Right. You One.
Louise 6:02
Yeah, high school. So I first I started at you in high school. I finished ninth grade there, but then I had to leave to go to New Brunswick. And then I graduated from tour in high school and actually graduated number four in my class. So I was top five.
Stanislas Berteloot 6:24
And then you went to college?
Louise 6:27
Yeah. Then I went to Rutgers, um, I did a double major. So I graduated with criminal justice and psychology. And right now I’m actually getting my master’s at Karen University for counseling. So I want to be a therapist senior year was when I found out that I was gonna be a mom. It was spring semester. I think I found out in February because there’s like a question. They’re so that’s when that was when, I guess my entire world just shifted
for the better, honestly.
Unknown Speaker 7:14
Yeah, I was not expecting that.
Stanislas Berteloot 7:18
Because that brought a lot of noise. Also.
Louise 7:25
Yeah, it was, um, initially it was, but then again my mom, you know, my mom was the first person that actually told about the baby. And she actually encouraged me to have the baby. She’s very religious, like, she’s very religious. So having an abortion was just something that was just not an option for her. And so, you know, and I and I always remember my mom’s words. You know, she She, she practically told me she said, This baby is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to you. And like, I don’t I can’t read the future and neither can she. So it’s kind of like I was getting myself set up for something like the unexpected, but I just like I maintain my faith, I would say that I genuinely like I got a lot closer to the Lord. And even though I had no idea because I was 23 you know, I had no idea about any you know about a baby or anything like that. But, you know, I was willing to go ahead and take that risk.
Unknown Speaker 8:44
I can hear the baby, the baby.
Unknown Speaker 8:47
Go ahead.
Unknown Speaker 8:50
That is him.
Louise 8:58
Okay, thank you.
Stanislas Berteloot 9:04
That’s great. All right, I’m myself might be interrupted anytime, so we know what it’s like. So, you were about to graduate. And that baby arrived. What did you do? You had to find housing. You had to? Yeah,
Louise 9:21
I did. So originally, I was at my cousin’s house, but um, the environment just wasn’t for me. So I ended up staying with a friend, um, who I was renting like a room there. But then it was kind of like, so I was there. There wasn’t any baby at the time. So I’m staying at my friend’s house and just working because at that time, I was actually working on a quick check. So I’m just working and just trying to secure fundings. A lot of fun things. You know, in preparation for a baby I had a baby I just, I remember just feeling so empty. I don’t want to say it was like postpartum depression or any of that stuff. But I just like I genuinely was not happy with my living condition. I just wasn’t happy. I just it was kind of like, from day one, I knew that I needed to provide a decent living for my son. So, and my mindset was always, you know, I got to give them a better life than I had in the midst of, you know, still working. So being a mom and things like that I started reaching out to people for help. So this is where hyp comes in, because I was just pretty much applying for like, a lot of programs. But one thing I’m big on education, you know, I’m big on school and things like that. So for me, it was kind of like, you know, Princeton was it. For me, it was kind of like I need to go to a place where Where the school district is good for my son. And I came across him. I had no idea what it was. But as it was like I was just filling out a bunch of applications. And then when things got really, really bad, I started like, practically harassing this, Carol.
Stanislas Berteloot 11:17
Sorry. How about was it and why was it bad?
Louise 11:22
I was just like, it was like a lot of turmoil with where I was living, because now we’re talking babies there. There was no heat. So she stopped turning on the heat. So now it’s kind of like I’m in a room. A little room, a little space with a baby, and no heat.
Stanislas Berteloot 11:46
So is the landlord turn of the.
Louise 11:49
Yeah,
Stanislas Berteloot 11:50
she didn’t want the baby there or what
Louise 11:52
I would, I guess so because you know, a newborn baby. There’s like a lot of demands. You know? With like, the noise level, and things like that, so I guess I don’t know. But I do. I do believe that was one of the reasons and just like, but my thing was, I could have left, but I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Um, my income was just not.
Unknown Speaker 12:27
How much were you making?
Louise 12:28
Like about $9.60 an hours, I was not making much at all. About $200 a week.
Stanislas Berteloot 12:37
Wow, for you and Malcolm?
Louise 12:40
Yes, for me and Malcolm. So it’s just like, I couldn’t take it. I did like Princeton Community House. I did like a lot of housing applications. And then I kept hearing the same thing you know, takes time there’s a waitlist and things like that. So when I called When I send my application and to hip, I got a call, I think I got a call from like Miss Carol. And I think she was just telling me that the place was like filled up or something like that and just be something like that. I was kind of like the call that I got, she gave me hope. So then, I just started I know, I started reaching out to her out, like a lot more in just like, out of desperation. Um, and I don’t know something, something must have clicked because next thing you know, I went for an interview because they do like their, you know, initial interview and things like that. Two weeks later, she she called me and said, congratulations. And I literally moved into the apartment. I want to say March 1 of like, 2017.
Unknown Speaker 13:49
Okay.
Louise 13:51
Yeah. So from September to March, that’s not really very long when it comes to like this housing thing, you know, because there’s
Stanislas Berteloot 14:00
Being in a new housing like that, well, you know, what difference did it make to you? Oh,
Louise 14:09
significant. Oh my gosh, it’s I, I mean, I was already responsible, but it just it was just so surreal to me. And, like, I knew that this was an opportunity of a lifetime. So for me, it was just, you know, feeling secure, you know, not feeling like I have to walk on tippy toes and somebody else’s home, I was able to get a lot of support from them. So I had a counselor, I remember Miss Glenda and then I had like, she was my liaison at the time, career development. So I think when I got into hip, that’s when literally things just started moving forward for me in a positive way. correction, because then it was kind of like I’m I went on from quick check to a decent job beneficial enough to get my feet wet a little bit, give me that experience that I needed. And then once I got that job, I secured it for at least a year, which was what? I was at a halfway house. Yeah, I was a program counselor there. And then I went back to the Career Coach, and she pretty much just helped me with my resume, resume building skills. And I’ve been able to network a lot with like different people, which has been really beneficial to me. One, she helped me, you know, improve my resume and interview skills and things like that. I secured an even better job with what I do now.
Stanislas Berteloot 15:51
So tell tell us about what you do now.
Louise 15:54
I work for family preservation services in Mercer County. I do intensive in home counseling for families at risk of losing their children. So, um, interventions that I do is just helping them become more stabilized in the home so that they’re able to keep their children and not have them removed by decently up.
Stanislas Berteloot 16:20
Wow. Yeah. Do you think that your personal history help you better understand those people?
Louise 16:30
Definitely. Yeah. And that’s
so there’s a fine line that you have to draw in terms of boundaries. But and I never go and tell them my story. But when I hear their story, I can easily relate to them, which makes it easier for them to relate to me. And, you know, it’s crazy because I just had a conversation with one of my supervisor, she pretty much told me she said, You’re really good at what you do. And that really meant a lot to me because This is something that I’m passionate about. Like, for me, it’s kind of like, someone paved the way for me. So paving the way for others is just my goal right now. Which is why I got into the whole social, Social Work field. And even now like I’m still even though technically I graduated from him, they have been of like, so much help to me that I still maintain like, communications with them. And even now, like I have, like, Miss Rebecca just reached out to me with an opportunity of a lifetime like, I I’m filled with so much joy just talking to you about this right now because she called me and she was like, you know, congratulations, because I got into like this on this program. It’s called the women unlimited organization for mentoring, education and networking. So even like stuff like that, that I’m still doing Getting, like the blessings is just it keeps coming in my mom words were true because Malcolm, I feel like he came with so much blessing. I know that they’re preparing me to be able to provide a living for my son, which is something that I’ve always dreamed of.
Stanislas Berteloot 18:19
You come from Liberia, you come from Africa, how do you experience this country being black, but you are not a black American, you are black from Africa. In this country, I mean, you are sort of in between culture, right.
Louise 18:37
Big time.
Oh, that’s a good question.
I try not to allow the outside the outside world, for lack of better words, intervene with the goals that I’ve set for myself.
Unknown Speaker 18:58
Okay, that makes sense.
Stanislas Berteloot 19:00
Sort of. So you you, you try to hide out all those racial tensions? Yes. Because you want to focus on on your goal, which is the carrier and yeah, and to build a good life outcome.
Louise 19:18
Yeah, like I like I’ve dealt with. And, you know,
it’s I think it’s interesting that you say this because moving to prison has not always been easy. I’ve had my shares of racism, for lack of better words, but it’s the mindset that I’ve had and I actually talked to Mrs. Glenda about it is that I’ve worked so hard to get to where I’m at right now. I’m not going to allow anyone to try to dictate, um, my outcome, so I’m not gonna I’m not gonna I’m not going to let people try to push me out of my dreams. You know? So, for me, it’s just
Unknown Speaker 20:12
tunnel vision.
Louise 20:14
Pretty much but i do i do address it when I see fit. So, you know, there was an incident with my, my my son school, it ended up working out in the sense that, you know, the same support system that I have with it. They were able to reach out to a professional who was then able to assist me with the situation. I’m in and it worked out.
Stanislas Berteloot 20:40
What is America to you?
Louise 20:44
America is giving me the headstart is pushing me to a place where I can just pretty much build up my character to take something back home for other children, you know, I feel like and I feel like I'm here for a purpose. Like, I know sounds like a cliche, but I gene, because I just find it unbelievable how things have just been working out. For me, and then, you know, for Malcolm and on that, I feel like that I feel like I, there's a purpose for all of this. So it's just soaking everything in, you know, right now, I'm kind of like a sponge. You know, I'm, I'm getting all the education that I need. Because a part of being like a therapist, or striving to be a therapist is I feel like mental health is really important. So it's just going back home and things like, you know, abuse and things like that, and taking that back with me and trying to just stabilize other children. So I guess,
Stanislas Berteloot 21:54
And when you say going back home, you mean home in Liberia? Yeah. Is that what you want to do? Ultimately,
Louise 22:01
Oh, yeah, yeah, I definitely want to, I've been planning because bear in mind since since I came here in 2001, I have not seen my family. So what I'm going to do is, you know, I want for Malcolm to get to an age where, you know, his memories serves him, right. Because when I, when I go back home, I, you know, obviously he has to be his grandma, and his uncle and his arm. So I want him to get to an age where, you know, it'll be good, good enough for him to go and experience, my side, my culture. And hopefully you can take something from that. So I'm definitely planning within the next year or two to go back because I need to meet my mom, like, you know, I haven't seen my mam forever.
Stanislas Berteloot 22:51
I'm sure you do. But where do you plan to settle, in the US over there.
Louise 22:59
So I want to do I want to travel back and forth. And he will sound crazy for this. But it's kind of like I can't just abandon America because America gave me that stabilization, I guess. And so, but I can't, you know, I can never forget where I've come from. So it's kind of like, maybe I can build a home back, back home where I can just travel back and forth, go on vacations and stuff.
And just experience my roots too.
Stanislas Berteloot 23:38
Yeah. Well, I don't blame you for that. Do you have any and that will be my last question. Do you have any advice for people who are going through a tough time?
Louise 23:48
Yes. Um, stay true to yourself. Just know that the storm does not last forever. There's always there's always light at the
Stanislas Berteloot 23:59
End of the Tunnel looking back at at your own experience, would you do anything differently?
Louise 24:06
No.
Stanislas Berteloot 24:11
Thank you.
Louise 24:12
Thank you.
You too. Thank you so much. Bye-bye
