A Conversation with Love Inside For Everyone, Inc.

We sat down with one of our SPARK! Grant partners, Temica Morton, Executive Director of L.I.F.E. Incorporated.

Love Inside For Everyone (L.I.F.E), Inc. was established in 2018 with a goal of filling the gaps in the LGBTQ community in the state of Mississippi. Their mission is to meet the unmet needs of the communities they serve through collaboration, education, innovative health services and capacity building for the betterment of all people. Some of the services they provide include HIV rapid testing, advocacy trainings, and a community food pantry.

What led you to start L.I.F.E. INC.? What need did you see in your community that wasn’t being met? 

TM: What pushed me to start L.I.F.E. INC. was wanting more for the community that I am involved in. Everybody has a story to tell, and there’s a big difference when you see the story first hand (the witness). 

What has your Gilead COMPASS Initiative® grant allowed you to do to impact your community?

TM: Being awarded the SPARK! GRANT it has allowed us to bring in more hands and reach a larger audience when meeting our community where they are. We are able to reach out and bring them to a safe place to where there is trust and understanding, and let them know that they are not alone. A lot of our community need the help and want the help but only trusting certain people into their personal space. With the help of our funds it has allowed us to provide those trusting spaces.

How has COVID 19 impacted your organization?

TM: With the pandemic we are facing COVID-19 has slowed us down a bit. We planned many sessions and events to take place. Even with all we are battling with daily we here at L.I.F.E. INC. still try to do our part with phone calls, travels to pharmacies for medication, or for those whom are still working on rides to work. Just still letting our community know that we are still here even if it’s just to talk.

How have you continued to serve your community in the midst of COVID 19?

TM: Part of this question has been answered, but we continue to come up with ways to uplift our community by having social topics with our social media platform. We also come into our private settings using zoom to have our 1-on-1 topics as well.