It's a bittersweet time for social worker Davida Williams, who is ending her 30-plus year career at Hephzibah Home in Oak Park.
She's retiring as the facility's foster care and adoption specialist, ending a near-35-year career in the industry, then moving to Fennville/Saugatuck/Douglas, Mich., to start a new chapter: writing a book about her experiences—"about our brilliant children and how they are our future leaders," she said.
Williams certainly will have the photos for a future publication, as her office showcases—in pictures—her long run, her loving friends, her "wild ride," she said. Her photos tell the time and tales of the countless children and youth she has impacted.
Williams, 58, a single lesbian who has always lived and worked in Oak Park, has touched the lives of literally hundreds, if not thousands, of children over the decades. She's watched and helped many of those youngsters grow up and start their own families. Some have even returned to Hephzibah to work as staff members and/or social workers.
Their successes is "what I take away; it's a gift," Williams said.
Williams is among 10 Hephzibah employees who are proud members of the 25-year club, which honors their tenure at Hephzibah. During her run, Williams has worked to create ground-breaking training, targeting LGBT parents as foster parents and created a model to be inclusive of LGBT parents for foster care and adoption.
"It's been such a positive, collaborative effort with our Hephzibah executive director, Mary Anne Brown, as we worked together to create our community-based foster care program in 1982," Williams said. "Mary Anne and I think a lot alike and always reach for the stars. Our Hephzibah children have been our mission and an enormous part of our lives."
Williams was board member of the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association for six years. In early November, Williams was honored with the OPAL—Oak Park Area Leadership Award, at the annual Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association's gala.
Hephzibah is Oak Park's oldest charity—founded in 1897, when Mary Wessels ( whose mother's name is Hephzibah ), opened her home to children from a nearby orphanage that had been destroyed by fire. Hephzibah became known to care for society's most vulnerable children, according to its website.
Hephzibah now works to help children thrive, and families flourish, through innovative, community-based programs.
Christmas Day is one of the most memorable days of the year at Hephzibah—and the day Williams personally chose to end her run.
"It's a wonderland here on Christmas," she said.
When Williams started at Hephzibah in 1979, there were 25 employees. It now has a staff of about 160.
Hephzibah is the home for 26 youngsters ranging in age from 3 to 12.
"Working at Hephzibah has been a gift, of giving and receiving, because what goes around comes around," Williams said. "Picking one moment from 30-plus years that stands out the most … wow, that's tough. I just look at the faces of the children we've helped, who we've impacted, and to see their happiness, their contentment, their safety, their love … that's what makes it for me."
Tears of joy have been plentiful over the years, especially in recent weeks as the number of days Williams remains at Hephzibah equals the number of years she's been there.
"Watching these children become happy, healthy, competent adults, and breaking that cycle of abuse and neglect, that's what means so much to me," Williams said.
After earning her bachelor's degree in psychology from Benedictine University in Lisle, Williams was back at home in Oak Park when her mom ( Rose ) suggested she go seek employment opportunities at Hephzibah. Two days after she first walked into the facility, Williams was hired.
"If I had gotten a law degree, which I had thought about, or a Master's in business from the University of Chicago, I would be rolling in [money]. I'm not, but I'm doing OK [financially]. But the real gift to me is, these children," Williams said. "There is such pride, such emotion thinking and talking about these children. My, it's so, so emotional for me—in a positive way.
"Instead of this ongoing generational pattern of abuse and neglect that I've been helping to deal with for 34 ½ years, there has now become this whole new culture of generational patterns of healthy families, fostering to adopt. It's the reverse [of what it once was]. Don't think of these kids and be sad, depressed or overwhelmed. Now that they're here at Hephzibah, we are going to help them become amazing adults."
For the last 27 years, she also has provided foster parent training for all child welfare agencies at Hephzibah, for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ( DCFS ). During her career:
—One couple told her that they moved to Illinois from Wisconsin because they had heard of her work and knew they could form a family with her support.
—An Oak Park lesbian couple that wanted to adopt their son through Hephzibah came to Williams for help in "challenging the state system," she said. They initiated the legal aid of the ACLU and were able to become openly licensed as DCFS foster/adoptive parents for their new son.
—As part of a two-day workshop called Contemplating Parenthood that Williams developed while serving on the OPALGA board of directors, she organized and hosted events where gay and lesbian parents could meet the necessary professional agency representatives and share their experiences with other prospective parents and established gay & lesbian families. Many of those families are current members of OPALGA who have realized their dreams of parenting.
"Davida has seen many changes in the foster care system over the years and is responsible for many of the positive changes enjoyed by gay and lesbian families," said David Neubecker, a foster adoptive parent who is openly gay. "Largely through Davida's efforts and over decades of time, dozens of Hephzibah's families have been headed by gay and lesbian couples. For many of them, it was Davida's efforts that demystified the process and assured them that they had every right to pursue their dreams of forming forever families for these amazing children."
