This Fort Worth-area mom didn’t let personal struggles stop her during the pandemic
Two years ago, Sheri Leyva was struggling to overcome a 20-year drug addiction.
This two-decade struggle led her to a special class for moms where she learned to rebuild her life.
Now, Leyva is helping others change their lives for the better as a facilitator of the Focus for Mothers classes with NewDay Services for Children and Families, a small nonprofit based in Fort Worth.
NewDay Services works with women who have cases with Child Protective Services, and during the ongoing pandemic, Leyva’s passion for helping other moms proved to be invaluable.
“Even though I was addicted, my whole passion was helping people. I thought, God, if I could just get off these drugs. It didn’t take me long to realize that I really wanted to do this,” she said.
Bethany Smith, marketing director for NewDay Services, who nominated Leyva for recognition in the Star-Telegram’s Hometown Heroes series, said Leyva helped mothers prepare for their children to come home with donations of furniture and clothing. She also attends court hearings with moms and helps them find clothing appropriate for the courtroom.
“Sheri really clung to the work we were doing, and she wanted to give back almost immediately,” Smith said. “This is her perfect life calling.”
Hometown Heroes is sponsored by Lockheed Martin, which is providing $1,000 each to the 28 people selected by the Star-Telegram to be featured in the weekly series.
Leyva is not hesitant about telling her story. Two years ago, she was struggling to overcome a 20-year drug addiction, which had resulted in her son being removed from her home. She also lost custody of her daughters in 2009, and they are now living with their grandparents.
She was determined to get her son back.
Leyva attended Focus for Mothers classes at NewDay Services, and the “loving approach” changed her life, she said.
“They made me feel that I wasn’t a failure,” Leyva said.
“They had a different and loving approach.”
She latched onto the positive attitudes and reinforcement and realized that she had a gift for helping other moms.
Leyva said she wants to do all she can to encourage anyone dealing with addiction to get help.
“I’ve done everything because of my drug addiction,” she said. “God gives the hardest battles to the strongest soldiers.”
Diane Davis, program coordinator of the Focus for Mothers classes, said she met Leyva in the classes she needed to take in order to get her child back.
“Working with her and talking to her about how valuable she is, no one ever told her that before,” Davis said.
“She grasped right on to that concept,” Davis said.
The classes teach mothers that they are “priceless.”
She works with women to help them make behavioral changes.
“You could just tell that Sheri was one of those clients who was really trying,” Davis said.
Leyva began helping other mothers fill out their CPS paperwork and also offered to meet with the moms after class.
“She is the epitome of sisterhood for other women,” Davis said.
When the pandemic hit, Leyva said she had to quickly learn how to teach her classes online and help the other moms learn how to use Zoom.
She also teaches classes in Spanish.
She attends court hearings with women who have CPS cases via Zoom, and she started a donation room in her home where she keeps furniture and a closet full of clothing if mothers need clothes for court hearings or job interviews.
Leyva is grateful that she has found her calling in life.
“I tell moms that you are going through this hard thing not because you are weak but because God sees something strong in the future.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 5:45 AM.