RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond police officer, who witnessed the death of her own mother as a teenager, is reaching out to other victims of domestic abuse.
Since 2004, Sgt. Carol Adams has been providing emotional and financial support to victims by helping provide furniture, shelter and transportation to those trying to leave a dangerous spouse or relationship.
Adams says a partnership with Verizon and generous donors over the years, helped form the Carol Adams Foundation in 2014.
This past weekend, the foundation unveiled its first home, a donated single-family home in the East End, to a young family in need.
Star Myles, a single mother of three young girls, was shot in the head by her physically and verbally abusive husband in 2011. Adams says she wanted Myles to have a safe haven for her family as they make plans to buy a permanent home.
“My goal, when they came here was for them to bring nothing but their clothes,” Adams says. “I didn’t want them to bring anything because I wanted this to be a new beginning, a fresh start.”
This past weekend, several volunteers helped paint, build a fence and move new furniture into the home.
“I’m extremely grateful,” Myles says. “We’ve never had anything like this.”
Myles has struggled with providing for her children, while dealing with permanent brain injuries that prevent her from pursuing a job in nursing.
Myles has had 15 surgeries in four years, but says she’s not giving up hope of recovering and raising her children on her own.
“I want the best for them,” Myles says. “I want them to have a better life than I was able to give them.”
Adams and Myles say they’ve formed a lifelong friendship, knowing they have walked in the same shoes. The two women hugged and cried as they looked at pictures and scriptures on the wall.
“She’s blessed me,” Myles says.
“Life is about relationships,” Adams says. “It’s about giving back and doing better.”
The Carol Adams Foundation is in the process of building a second transitional home or safe shelter.
