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When most people think of One Parent Scholar House, they picture affordable housing for single parents pursuing higher education. While housing is certainly the foundation, the program offers something far greater. It provides hope when life feels uncertain, encouragement when the road becomes difficult, and a community that stands beside families through every triumph and every challenge.
For one resident, One Parent Scholar House became the turning point she never expected.
After leaving an unhealthy relationship, Tia Lockwood and her daughters found themselves living with her mother. It wasn’t a long-term solution, and the future felt uncertain. Around the same time, she experienced another devastating loss when her beloved MeeMaw, the person she considered her greatest source of encouragement, passed away.
“There were moments when I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do or where we’d end up,” Lockwood recalls. “If it weren’t for One Parent Scholar House, I really don’t know where I would be.”
Despite the heartbreak, Lockwood held onto the words that continually echoed in her mind. She often asked herself what her MeeMaw would tell her to do.
“The answer was always the same,” Lockwood says. “She’d tell me to get my tail in gear and keep going.”
That determination, paired with the support Lockwood found at One Parent Scholar House, transformed every area of her life.
Before entering the program, her grades reflected the stress and instability Lockwood was carrying. Today, she’s thriving academically.
“My grades went from mostly Bs and Cs to making the Dean’s List for the last two semesters,” Lockwood says proudly. “This semester, I’m on track for the President’s List.”
Lockwood credits much of that success to being surrounded by people who believed in her, even during moments when believing in herself felt impossible.
“Being surrounded by people who remind you that you’re capable changes everything.”
Just as life began to stabilize, another unimaginable challenge appeared.
After experiencing pain in her hip, doctors discovered a giant cell tumor. Suddenly, conversations about MRIs, surgery, and chemotherapy became part of everyday life. Following treatment, Lockwood found herself navigating life in a wheelchair with a sudden disability.
“Hearing words like tumor and chemo was terrifying,” Lockwood says. “Not just for me, but for my daughters.”
The experience gave her an entirely new perspective.
“You realize how inaccessible the world can be,” Lockwood explains. “But you also realize just how much you need people around you.”
During every doctor’s appointment, every difficult diagnosis, and every setback, Lockwood says One Parent Scholar House never wavered.
“It’s everything,” Lockwood says when asked what kind of support has meant the most.
“It’s the staff who answer the phone when you’re scared. It’s someone looking at you and saying, ‘Everything is going to be fine,’ even when you can’t imagine how.”
For her, that support is deeply personal.
“If I need Allison, she’s there. Every single time. She’s so much more than a staff member. She genuinely cares about me and my girls.”
Then, fighting back tears, Lockwood adds, “You’re not just another resident here. You’re family.”
That sense of family extends far beyond the walls of the building.
Lockwood says donors have played an immeasurable role in helping her daughters experience childhood without carrying the burden of financial hardship.
“There were Christmases when my girls wouldn’t have had presents if it weren’t for donors,” Lockwood says. “There were birthdays that would have looked completely different.”
But beyond the gifts themselves, Lockwood says the greatest gift has been knowing someone believes in her family.
“People we’ve never even met care enough to help us keep moving forward. That kind of generosity gives you hope.”
Today, as Lockwood continues working toward her degree and creating a brighter future for her daughters, she’s already thinking about how she can give back.
“I used to tell my MeeMaw that one day I’d be the person helping someone else,” Lockwood says. “I want to be the one grabbing an angel from the giving tree or asking if there’s a family I can help.”
Lockwood understands firsthand what it feels like to wonder how Christmas will happen, how birthdays will be celebrated, or how you’ll make it through another difficult season.
“Someone did that for me,” she says. “One day, I want to do that for someone else.”
Her story is a powerful reminder that One Parent Scholar House is about far more than providing a place to live. It’s about creating a community where single parents can heal from trauma, pursue their education, overcome unexpected obstacles, and build a future they once thought was out of reach.
Housing provides the foundation, but relationships provide the strength to keep moving forward.
At One Parent Scholar House, we’re providing more than housing. We’re building confidence, creating opportunity, surrounding families with unwavering support, and helping parents discover that even in life’s hardest moments, hope still has a home.
To learn more about One Parent Scholar House, the families it serves, or to make a gift that helps single parents build brighter futures, please visit hopectr.org/one-parent-scholar-house. Your support provides more than housing. It provides hope, opportunity, and the foundation for generations to come.
