March - Williamsburg , VA Magazine , Next Door Neighbors

PAM FRAZIERLisa W. Cumming PhotographyFeeding the ChildrenBy Brandy CentolanzaPam Frazier, Title I Parent Outreach Facilitatorfor Williamsburg-James City CountyPublic Schools, can appreciate the needs ofthe homeless and disadvantaged students sheserves. She’s seen it before, and she was oncehomeless herself.Pam traveled frequently with her familyin her younger years. Her father, Raymond,served in the Army. Her family encounteredpeople from all walks of life as they lived amilitary lifestyle. She first learned of the strugglesof homelessness as a child in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania the city where she was born, andwhere she made numerous trips during herchildhood. There, she noticed homeless peoplein the subways, on buses, and sleeping bystorefronts after hours.“At that age, I vaguely remember being curiousas to why people were living that way,”she recalls. “It bothered me because I wantedto help but did not feel like I had the means tomake an impact.”She encountered folks in similar situationslater while living in Oklahoma near Indian reservationsand in Texas near the Mexican border.“At [age] 20, I was able to travel and hangout with friends, so we crossed the bordermany times,” she remembers. “It was verypainful to see how some of the Latinos wereliving in cardboard boxes, especially those withyoung children and babies.”As an adult, Pam moved from Texas toNewport News. At that time she was a singlemother working three jobs. Due to unforeseencircumstances, she suddenly found herselfwithout a home. She sought assistance fromHampton Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions(HELP), Inc., a shelter in Hampton.Within a few months she found the means tomove out. During her stay she had made animpression on those who had helped her. SheNEXT DOOR NEIGHBORSMARCH2011 3