Digging Out Of An Unforgiving Hole; 'An Army Of Hundreds': Good News

ACROSS AMERICA — Homeless and living on the streets of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, after leaving everything behind half a world away, Nola Oladipo did the only thing she could do.

She found a shelter where she and her children, a daughter and triplet sons — could rest their heads, and then did everything she could to claw her way out of the unforgiving hole that society — without a safety net, without a firm structure in place to handle humanitarian crises — had all but dug for her.

Raising children is a challenge under any circumstance, but for an impoverished immigrant and single mother living in a homeless shelter in what amounted to an alien world, the challenges are multiplied. She knew she would have to make sacrifices — and have faith.

That was nearly 30 years ago. It worked out better than Oladipo could have imagined. » A Patch Exclusive by Justin Heinz for Lower Providence Patch

Before she was an award-winning author, Susan Burton was in and out of prison. So when she was invited to do a book talk on “Becoming Ms. Burton” to the inmates at the women’s prison in Bedford Hills, New York, she knew she would her life mirrored in theirs. Instead of asking how they could emulate her success, woman after woman asked how they could help people who find themselves without hope or make a difference in the world. “I’ll tell you where I started — I started with anger,” Burton said. “It was a long journey. Eventually, that anger became love And I’ll tell you what, I love you.” » A Patch Exclusive by Jeff Edwards for Bedford Patch

“She would be over the moon,” Mary McElroy said of the reaction her late daughter would have had to the results of a blood drive inspired by her memory. Blood transfusions extended Bridget McElroy’s life, yet she saw others in the hospital who were denied blood. It didn’t square with the younger McElroy, who had always thought of others first, her mother said, ticking off one altruistic effort after another. “Since her death, so many people have told me things they’re doing, including giving blood,” Mary McElroy said. “She was an army of one. But she left behind an army of hundreds.” » A Patch Exclusive by Jerry Barmash for Massapequa Patch

A Patchogue, New York, mom who lost her son to opioids and organized to offer training in the administration of the opiate antidote Narcan originally saw it as a one-and-done event. But Carole Trottere’s activism has evolved. At an Opioid Awareness Day event in May, she found it “amazing how many people came over and decorated a rock” in memory of a loved one who had lost a loved one to opiates. Local police trained almost 100 people at the same time. More events like that are planned in the future. “I like the fact that the police are very concerned,” Trottere said. “They’re not just sitting in a silo.” » A Patch Exclusive by Peggy Spellman Hoey for Patchogue Patch

The number 100 marked a great milestone for the New Jersey nonprofit Sea Turtle Recovery. That’s how many endangered sea turtles the group has rehabilitated at its Essex County Turtle Back Zoo clinic in West Orange and released to the ocean. Before the clinic opened, sea turtles had to be taken out of state for long-term care — not an easy task. Sea turtles are vital environmental stewards. “From Green Sea Turtles assuring the health of seagrass beds that provide fish nurseries to nesting that enriches soil for dune grasses that reduce beach erosion, sea turtles not only impact a healthy ocean ecosystem but also our lives,” said Bill Deerr, the clinic’s co-executive officer. “We hope everyone can see that even small actions can make a big difference in saving our planet,” Deerr encouraged. » A Patch Exclusive by Eric Kiefer for West Orange Patch