BUSINESS, IT’S THE STORY OF A NEW ORLEANS WOMAN WHOSE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS IS ONE YOU’LL REMEMBER WELL. WDSU REPORTER SHAY O’CONNOR JOINS US WITH THE STORY OF A NEW MID-CITY BAKERY SHOP OWNER WHO WAS ON THE STREETS JUST YEARS AGO. THE OWNER OF NOLITA EXPLAINS WHY LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT. BAKING IS A LOT LIKE LIFE. IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PATIENCE TO GET THE BEST OUTCOME. AND THERE’S NO ONE WAY TO TRULY DO IT RIGHT. IT JUST HAPPENED. I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I LOVED THIS PROCESS, BUT IT IS SO. IT IS SO METICULOUS AND PARTICULAR AND BEAUTIFUL. FOR MARTHA GILREATH, THE OWNER OF NOLITA BAKERY IN MID-CITY. IF YOU WANT A GOOD RESULT, SHE SAYS, YOU HAVE TO TRUST THE PROCESS. I LIKE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. UM, AM AN ADDICT AND AN ALCOHOLIC, AND I LIVED WITH THAT FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I WAS SICK FOR, YOU KNOW, THE BETTER PART OF 16 YEARS. GILBERT’S ADDICTION TO HARD DRUGS AND ALCOHOL LED HER INTO HOMELESSNESS OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS. AND I KNOW THAT AT SOME POINT YOU WERE HOMELESS. IF YOU COULD KIND OF TELL ME ABOUT, UM, HOW THAT HAPPENED, I THINK THAT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT’S GRADUAL. YOU STOP PAYING BILLS, YOU STAY IN A HOTEL ROOMS, YOU SLEEP ON OTHER PEOPLE’S COUCH. THE LONGER I WAS IN ACTIVE ADDICTION, THE MORE WILLING I WAS TO ACCEPT THINGS. AT ONE POINT, GILREATH LIVED UNDERNEATH THE CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION BRIDGE. FOR THE MOST PART, IT’S JUST SURVIVAL. UM, IT IS VERY SCARY, BUT I THINK AT THE TIME YOU’RE NOT AWARE OF ANY OF THAT BECAUSE YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE. YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO GET RIGHT. JUST TRYING TO FIND MONEY, DO THE NEXT THING. BUT GILREATH SAYS GOD AND FATE WOULD INTERVENE IN 2019. UM, AND ONE OF MY FRIENDS I CALLED HER AND SHE PICKED UP THE PHONE AND I ASKED HER IF SHE WOULD COME GET ME AND SHE SAID, IF I GET IN THE CAR, WILL YOU STAY WHERE YOU ARE? AND I DIDN’T MOVE FROM THAT SPOT. SO I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW, SOMETHING BIGGER THAN ME WAS HELPING. AND SHE GOT ME AND I WENT BACK INTO TREATMENT. THIS TIME, RECOVERY WAS A LOT EASIER. MONTHS LATER, SHE APPLIED TO CULINARY SCHOOL AMID THE PANDEMIC. RIGHT HERE AT NOKI, LESS THAN A BLOCK AWAY FROM WHERE SHE ONCE LIVED. SHE GRADUATED VALEDICTORIAN OF HER CLASS. I OWE THEM A DEBT OF GRATITUDE. I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO REPAY BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS, I HAVE NOT HAD DIRECTION IN MY LIFE SINCE I WAS PROBABLY 19 YEARS OLD, AND WHAT THEY ASKED OF ME PUSHED ME TO BE BETTER. UM, YOU KNOW, IT REQUIRED DISCIPLINE. IT REQUIRED REQUIRED FOLLOWING DIRECTION AND LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE, UM, PUSHING MYSELF THAT PUSH WAS THE LASTING ONE. I HAD TRIED TO GET SOBER BEFORE, AND I WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WERE ASKED OF ME, OR I DIDN’T THINK THAT I HAD TO, UH, THIS TIME, I THINK IT WAS A MATTER OF REALIZING THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO DIE THIS WAY. YEARS LATER, HER BAKERY IS THRIVING HERE ALONG ORLEANS AVENUE. AFTER ACQUIRING THE PROPERTY LAST JULY, SHE WAS ABLE TO OPEN UP HER SHOP IN JANUARY, SHE SIGNALING A FRESH START TO THE YEAR AND HER LIFE. IT ALL HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY. UM, MY SISTER, MY BIG SISTER DESIGNED THE SPACE. UM, I’VE HAD ONE BROTHER HELP ME WITH OFFICE WORK. ONE BROTHER. UH, DO WOODWORKING IN THIS SPACE. ANOTHER BROTHER HAS HELPED ME WITH BOOKS FOR THE CHILDREN’S LIBRARY. THIS. NOT TO MENTION AN AWESOME TEAM OF HELPERS AND CUSTOMERS THAT HELP MAKE WORK FUN OVER AT THE FRONT DOOR IN EVER GROWING COLLECTION OF ITEMS. DONATE BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS MARTHA GIVES THESE ITEMS TO THE UNHOUSED POPULATION ALMOST WEEKLY. IT’S GOOD TO SEE PEOPLE OUTSIDE. IT’S GOOD TO SEE THE KIDS TAKING BOOKS OUT OF THE LIBRARY. HER MESSAGE TO OTHERS WHO MAY FIND THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION SIMILAR TO HERS IS YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR HELP. WHETHER WHETHER YOUR HARD TIMES ARE SOMETHING EXTREME, LIKE NEEDING TO GET SOBER, HOMELESSNESS OR YOUR HARD TIME IS. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIND A BANKER TO FINANCE MY DREAM. YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR HELP. WE’RE NOT MEANT TO DO ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD ALONE. MORE THAN A HALF MILLION PEOPLE EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS ACROSS AMERICA JUST LAST YEAR HERE IN NEW ORLEANS, THE POPULATION HAS BEEN GROWING, BUT LEADERS ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO OFFER THE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES NEEDED. I SIT DOWN WITH THE DIRECTOR OF HOMELESS SERVICES ON HIS PLAN. YOU’LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS TOMORROW RIGHT HERE ON WDSU. EXCELLENT STORY THERE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARTHA’S INSPIRATIONAL STORY, OR EVEN HOW YOU CAN DONATE ITEMS TO THE UNHOUSED POPULATION BY VISITING HER BAKERY