“I was raised in Mobile where I was valedictorian at LeFlore High School in 2010, and now I am a social worker helping students there. I am only 30, but I have a bunch of kids who look to me for guidance and assistance. A lot of them call me mom, and this is where I am supposed to be.

My dad was a coach and taught history at LeFlore for many years. He was always loading up kids in his truck and taking them to and from practice and tutoring so that they could participate. My mom is an elementary school teacher, so helping kids is what we do.

I went to Alabama A&M University and volunteered at a local Boys and Girls Club for my sorority service hours. I was assigned a sibling set as my mentees. They were poor, and one was nicknamed “Dirt” because of how unkempt he could be. I loved those kids and was sad to lose touch with them when they abruptly stopped coming.

I graduated with a degree in political science in 2014 with law school dreams. But reality hit—who was going to pay for law school and fund my life in a new city while I pursued the degree? I went to a forum hosted by the social work department, and it interested me. I didn’t know much about social work and naively assumed everyone had a family like mine. I enrolled in the graduate social work department and hoped to make a difference.

I got a job with DHR in Huntsville as a foster care worker, and my first case was the boys who were my mentees at the Boys and Girls Club. God affirmed that this is what I was called to do.

I moved back to Mobile in 2017 and worked as a medical social worker in pediatric intensive care at Children’s and Women’s Hospital. I loved the fast pace and patients who became family, but I couldn’t handle all of the deaths of children. There were so many times I did everything I could, but I still felt like I failed them.

I became a school social worker in 2021 and joined a great team of social workers in the Mobile County Public School System. I was assigned to the schools in my old neighborhood, and I am often reminded that not all children have the same family and opportunities I had. I help them in every way I can.

Unstable families make it hard for kids to do well in school. I work with a few unaccompanied youth who have been kicked out of their homes or who are living on their own due to the incarceration or the death of a parent or guardian. We have a lot of grandparents raising kids. Some students are parents, and we help them complete their education and do their best for themselves and their children.

Some of our kids have little to eat or don’t have running water or electricity at home. Some students are unable to get the extra help and after-school tutoring they need because they don’t have a ride home. Once we are aware of their needs, we work on solutions.

One student told me she was failing the dance class that everyone loves because she was embarrassed to change clothes. Her clothes weren’t washed at home, so now we wash them at school.

When there is a problem at school, many of these kids will tell you they don’t care if you call their parents or guardians because there is no accountability at home. No one cares enough to be mad when they do something wrong. If no one else cares, why should they?

Kids crave stability, accountability, and structure, even if it is from someone outside of their family. This is where mentors come in. Pour into them, and you will be surprised by the good they do. They want to know somebody is proud of them. I am thankful for the teachers and people at LeFlore who guided me; it is my turn to give it back.

Our students need access to role models, so I started the Rattler Belles with my good friend Jyl Hughes, an English teacher at LeFlore. We focus on culture, class, and community with our group of 25 young ladies. Our goal is for them to emerge as leaders and positive influences for the other students.

My phone is always on, and my kids call me when they need help. They know Ms. Lett shows up for games and programs or even bad situations. The biggest way to let children know I care for them is to show up. My four-year-old daughter comes with me because I want her to see how we love others. When I look back on my pictures from student move-ins, programs, games, and college send-offs, my daughter is in them.

LeFlore has an awesome alumni association that raises money for our school every year. I made a post about adopting students for Christmas in the alumni group, and they are jumping in. We can always use community help providing wraparound services for some of our students.

We collect necessities for students. I have a bookshelf in my office of school supplies, school uniforms, hygiene products, sanitary napkins, deodorant, and toothbrushes. You would be surprised how many kids don’t have those readily available.

I also have a clothes closet for events where our students need to dress up, but don’t have anything to wear. I know all of the thrift stores and can dress a kid in a heartbeat for senior activities, homecoming, graduation, interviews, or prom.

I am the calm in the storm for kids, but I also know when to call my therapist and get help calming myself. Black people pretend that therapy is not a thing, but I tell my kids that although I am counseling them, I need counseling, too. I also have a great support system from my parents and boyfriend.

These kids will steal your heart. I have a ‘son’ who recently graduated high school and received a full-tuition scholarship to The University of South Alabama awarded by The Treadwell Foundation. This young man did not have family support, so I stepped in. I took him to get his first bank account and his driver’s license and was there for college move-in day. I hound him about maintaining his grades and making wise decisions as my parents did for me.

I can see myself with a big family, whether they are kids I birthed or kids I just keep my hands on through mentorship. Social work may never make me rich, but it gives me so much more. I meet people at their lowest lows, but if I do my job, I get to see them blossom. Caterpillars become butterflies.”

Hilaire

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Hilaire’s story is a part of a series about the Weavers—people stitching our communities together, solving problems, and showing how to care for our neighbors. Send a message to Our Southern Souls to nominate a Weaver from your community to be featured on Souls.