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The Unlikely Way God Used a 72-Year-Old to Restore Hope to a Crime-Ridden Community

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PORTSMOUTH, VA – Portsmouth looks like a number of older cities across America – a once-thriving community that hit tough times and lost its luster before poverty and crime eventually took over.  

Now, with God's help, 72-year-old resident Gail Harts is bringing hope and healing to the beleaguered neighborhood – and she's doing it through dance.

"This is Craddock area, and it is one of the most needy areas in the Portsmouth area. And the kids are on the streets and there is so much going on in the community that is not good," Harts, director and CEO of Gail Harts Performing Arts Group, told CBN News.

She wanted to change that so in 1979, she started to use her performing arts studio to help meet that need.

An Unexpected Turn of Events

Harts did more than just teach dance. She provided a refuge for young girls and boys seeking safety from sexual abuse, family violence and homelessness.

For 25 years, children turned to her for love and security. Then in 2005, that all quickly disappeared when Harts fell down a flight of steps and severed her Achilles tendon.  

"When they took me up to Maryview hospital, the doctor said I had severed my Achilles, that it was the worst tear he had ever seen," the now 72-year-old recalled.

"This was when I decided that maybe God is trying to tell me something or I'm just tired and I'm getting older and maybe it's time for me to close and give it up," she continued. "And I decided to do that in 2005 and I stopped teaching."

That left potentially hundreds of kids without a place to dream and families without a safe place to turn, including the Doucett family who clearly needed help.

Escaping a Cycle of Abuse

Davonna Doucett needed courage to leave her abusive husband and protect her kids.

"I thought that I could perhaps be another victim and I did not want that for my children," Doucett said.

"One incident, the police were called out; I suffered from a black eye, bites in my back, just other physicalities (sic) that I suffered and at that point, that's when everything with my mom's death came to the forefront," she recalled.

Her mother's death came at the hands of Doucett's stepfather, a cycle of abuse that would follow her for years until she finally broke free.

"And I just can't imagine having my children here without their mom, and that is something that I experienced," she told CBN News. "The feeling is not a good feeling, you know. I still need her to this day. You know it's very, very hard."

Doucett finally ended up leaving her husband in 2009. After that, the family spent many bleak nights in a shelter with only songs of faith keeping their hopes alive.

A Divine Invitation

During that same year, God called Harts to get back into teaching.

"So I'm like asking myself, 'How are you going to do this?'" she recalled.

Harts needed her feet to teach dance, but she couldn't even walk; therefore, she did the only thing she knew to do – pray.

"And I said, 'Ok Lord, You've brought me here; You gotta fix this foot for me to do what I need to do,'" she recalled.

God answered Harts' prayer.

"And at one point one day, I realized that there was no more pain in the foot," she said.

Eight years later, Harts' studio serves over 200 children weekly in the Portsmouth community, including Doucett's daughters.

"It has been awesome," Doucett exclaimed. "Every day they come home and they go in the living room, they teach me a new step from the different genres of music that they're learning and the choreographer. You would think that my girls are in Disney World every day coming here."

'I See His Hand in All I'm Doing'

Harts believes God called her back for this reason – to serve, to love and be God's hands and feet.

"And I've learned so much about Christ and how He can lead you to do the things that He expects you to do," she said. "I see His hand in all that I am doing right now. I believe your words can be a change and a turnaround for someone else's life."

"I believe that God has His hand on me to do these things," Gail continued. "I really seriously believe that."

 

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About The Author

Talia
Wise

Talia Wise has served as a multi-media producer for CBNNews.com, CBN Newswatch, The Prayer Link, and CBN News social media outlets. Prior to joining CBN News she worked for Fox Sports Florida producing and reporting. Talia earned a master’s degree in journalism from Regent University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.