08/25/2026
Moving across the street to become Community Renewal's newest community coordinator was a short walk in distance, but a big step in life for LaSherrica Burks.
A former "Friendship House Kid" herself, LaSherrica is the new community coordinator for children in the Allendale neighborhood. She will now mentor children in the same place where she once spent hundreds of afternoons under the guidance of previous community coordinators.
"I wouldn't be who I am today without Community Renewal and the Friendship House," she said. "That was a home away from home and I really appreciated that."
LaSherrica's family moved into one of the Fuller Center for Housing homes in Allendale when she was in the third grade. The house, where her mother still lives, is directly across the street from the two Friendship Houses there. A Friendship House is a safe place of love and caring with after-school programs, neighborhood events and other activities that help build a child's self-confidence, faith and sense of belonging.
In the Youth Club there, LaSherrica found a greater purpose for her life and developed a strong desire to help those around her. She started then doing what she could to help her friends and neighbors.
LaSherrica earned her bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and then earned a master's degree in social work from LSU. She was the first in her family to do so. Along the way, she learned a valuable lesson at the Friendship House that she is now passing on to the next generation.
"All of that doesn't matter if you don't treat people right. You can have all the degrees in the world and lots of money, but how you treat other people is what matters the most," she said.
LaSherrica says she can't imagine where she would be if the Friendship House had not been there for her as a teenager. She's grateful for the impact her time there had on her life and that she can continue building the culture of caring there.
"I'm thankful for the opportunity I have now to be a community coordinator here in the Allendale area," she said. The past three years she served families as a hospice worker, learning how even a small act of caring can have a big impact.
"Now the same doors I once walked through (as a teenager) will be the same doors that I open to welcome these kids in and I am very excited about that. I am ready to give these kids the love that I had. Somebody had to invest in me. Somebody had to believe in me."
Now she's investing in and believing in today's boys and girls.
"I love helping people. This is my lane. When I found out about this opportunity, I applied and prayed about it and I feel like everything worked out the way it needed to work out," she said.
"I want to be the peace and love and support that they need. I tell the kids it doesn't matter where you come from. What matters is your heart. I want them to graduate and be the first one to graduate from high school. Before they leave the Friendship House and go out into the world, I want them to know they are loved and cared about and that they can be anything they want to be if they just put their minds to it."
