Hey, everyone! We are still continuing the features for Nashville organizations who are giving back and assisting the unhoused community. Due to the colder seasons coming up soon, a lot of organizations are working towards housing members of the unhoused community at a quick pace. However, it is possbile for people to have different obstacles in the way which keep them from affordable housing and shelter. Some of those obstacles include income, lack of documentation, and even past criminal charges. Unfortunately, this can result in many of the unhoused being exposed to the elements, causing hospitalization and even death. Fortunately, there are different organizations assisting with housing those who have past criminal charges and those who are less fortunate. One of those organizations is Rychus Rydz, run by forty-three year old Milwaukee, Wisconsin born and Michigan raised, Shawn'a Hatcher, also known as “Kia.”
Shawn'a Hatcher describes herself as a ten-time felon and a three-time college graduate. Despite her hardships, Shawn'a always believed strongly in one thing: everyone deserves a second chance. “In my eyes, Nashville doesn't believe in second chances. I live in a city where McDonald's won't even hire you if you have as many felonies as I have, so it left me no choice but to get out there and get it. I come from a God-fearing family full of preachers and teachers, and I knew no matter what I did illegal or legal, I was living off my families prayers.” Shawn'a said her idea for starting Rychus Rydz and helping people get second chances started after her final legal case. “All of my life I have been a go-getter and a hustler, so I took all my street knowledge and turned it into legal knowledge. After my last dope case, I asked God if he didn't send me to prison and gave me one more chance, I would never touch dope again. The judge gave me eight years probation, so I kept my promise to God and I quit selling dope. I started from the bottom and started cleaning rich people's bathrooms in Green Hills, cleaning commercial buildings, bought cars off of Craigslist and would flip them, bought storage units where people would lose their entire house of furniture, I would bid on it, buy and sell everything at yard sales, Ebay, and Craigslist. I eventually saved up $11,000, which was enough to buy a white mustang off of Craigslist. Later on, I went and got Walmart spray paint and bought decals off of Ebay, I created a Hello Kitty car to be a super mom to my daughters. The more I added to the car, the more attention I drew within the city, and when people would see my car they would scream in excitement like they had seen a celebrity and start taking pictures. I then knew I had created something special and that's when my Rychus Rydz journey began.”
From that moment forward, Shawn'a founded Rychus Rydz Kar Klub, Entertainmenmt and Incorporation in 2010. Shawn'a describes her organization as follows: “Rychus Rydz is a charitable 5013C that is in good standards in the state of Tennessee. We are based out of Nashville, Tennessee and do righteous things in the community, and one day plan to spread our good deeds around the world. Rychus Rydz now has nine chapters and two in the making. We are making a difference by housing nonviolent criminal offenders, less fortunate men and women, cleaning neighborhoods, feeding and clothing those in need, and having blood drives to save lives. Rychus Rydz is striving to help as many people as possible in a positive way. Our mission is to help, serve, and have fun doing it. The present functions of our company involve community cleanups, food, clothing, and blood drives. We sometimes help with organizations such as Matthew 25 All Men's Shelter, Muscular Dystrophy, Red Cross, Second Harvest, and the Nashville Rescue Mission. Also, for the past twelve years, Rychus Rydz has participated in the walk for Breast Cancer awareness. For the past eight years we have hosted different charitable events such as Comedy Nights, car shows, Rock The Mic talent shows, Kids Power The Wheel events, and Stop The Violence events. What we raise from these events we give a portion of the earnings to the people in need.”
Shawn'a explained that one of the main future goals of Rychus Rydz is to help Nashville's troubled youth. “Our mission is to provide vocational, and in the near future, educational opportunities for these youth. Our purpose is to promote positive living through activities such as community service and weekly talk sessions. We have discovered that through these avenues and more, that our youth are learning to develop a sense of responsibility and self-worth. We believe that attraction rather than promotion has served as a positive motivator for new members as they see other young adults in our organization who have overcome obstacles such as gangs, drugs, dropping out of school and even homelessness. We encourage our youth to have confidence in themselves and self-awareness within an environment that will help them overcome obstacles and to be successful in their endeavors.” The Coronavirus has negatively impacted different organizations across the state of Tennessee, Shawn'a explained how Covid-19 made it difficult for the Rychus Rydz organization and their members. “Covid-19 has made it hard for us to do the things we have normally done over the years and now the property that we are on has been sold for 6.8 million dollars and we don't have anywhere to go. We are praying for God to grant us a miracle so we can continue helping people.” As for Rychus Rydz's future, the organization endeavors to function as an entity that can provide educational reources, counseling, and different life programs. According to Shawn'a, some of those programs include parenting programs. “We also aim to provide educational and counseling resources, as well as parenting programs for adult men to aid them and reintegrate themselves back into family life. We plan to broaden our horizons in the near future by implementing programs for displaced families and to assist adults who are first time non-violent offenders. Our sole aim is to reach our community with a positive message.”
As a closing statement, Shawn'a wants people to know that Rychus Rydz is an organization that believes in second chances, blessing people, serving the community, and having fun while doing it. “The Rychus Rydz Inc. is about changing lives, rebuilding communities, feeding the hungry, and giving hope to the hopeless. As our mission statement best describes, our purpose is to help serve and have fun while doing it.”
If you or anyone you know would like to check out more information about Rychus Rydz Inc., you can look on www.RychusRydzInc.org. I want to take this opportunity to thank Shawn'a and Rychus Rydz for their hospitality and commitment to helping the Nashville community. My next feature shall focus on more organizations, however, if you or someone you know would like a feature, you can email me at slamauthor25@gmail.com. Happy Reading!
-Melanie Lane