In December of 1985, Theather Huggins fled to a shelter with three children, the clothes on their backs and a box of food.

“I put the box of food down, because my little one, he didn’t have enough warm clothes on because it was so cold. I put him inside my jacket, and zipped it up, and walked from the train station to the building,” Huggins said.

What You Need To Know

  • Theather Huggins was once a resident of a shelter operated by the Henry Street Settlement, after fleeing domestic violence

  • She went on to work for them — helping other women through the same situation

  • Now, she's retiring, after decades of work with the organization

At the shelter, operated by the Henry Street Settlement, she found a place that was warm in more ways than one — the place changed her life forever.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be able to even speak about it, because my experience was so traumatic,” she said. “I was stabbed 17 times, 121 stitches. In crutches. Three children. I never, ever — no high school diploma, no job, no skills.”

Henry Street offered a peaceful, safe place to live. She got food, clothes, diapers and counseling.

At the end of her time in shelter, Huggins was hired by Henry Street, ultimately becoming a housing specialist and live-in crisis worker at the shelter, living alongside and helping families who faced the struggles she did.

“I want to make sure that I’m giving someone else the same services that was given to me at one time,” she said.

She’s spent decades helping women — and was among those who gave Princess Diana a tour of the organization’s shelter in 1989. One former shelter resident recalled the first time she met Huggins.

“The first thing that she did outside of her big stack of paperwork, she gave me a hug. And it was very graceful because it was needed,” the former resident said.

She says Huggins’ goal isn’t to just find people's homes and get them out of shelter — it’s preparing them to thrive when they do.

“I don’t think [Huggins] does any of this because this is her job. I think this comes natural, from her heart,” she said.

Huggins says it was her own experience that made it easier to bond with the women she’s served.

“I had a sensitive side of me because I had been there. I lived there, and I walked it and I was able to come out of it,” she said.

She’ll certainly be missed at Henry Street.

“Programs don’t help people — people help people,” said Henry Street Settlement CEO David Garza. “When you have someone like Theather who’s got that gift of her life experience, and then brings it to the role in such a meaningful way and shares so openly and supportively with the people we aim to serve, it’s a uniquely formidable combination of life experience and skills and commitment to the work that really makes her special.”

She’s given a lot to others over her career, and in her retirement, she plans to do something for herself and finish her bachelor’s degree.

“That’s my first goal. I want to get my degree. And that’s for me,” she said.