HAMLET – Inspired by double tragedies in her family, Danielle Diggs fosters hope and optimism where others might be hesitant to believe in such.
With degrees in social work (BSW and MSW), and professional training in the fields of mental health and substance abuse counseling, Diggs presents a bright and effervescent persona while simultaneously conveying a serious, focused approach to achieving her objectives.
After graduating early with her master’s degree in social work, Diggs returned to Hamlet and began her career in mental health and substance abuse counseling. But believing that she could do more to help the young girls of the county, she organized the FAR Community Services non-profit entity in 2012 and has continued her efforts ever since.
“Our goal is to enable young girls to give back to the community,” said Diggs. “We have to love ourselves before we can love others, so life skills are essential to our development as young women.”
FAR is designed to enhance, accentuate, and augment the social skills and coping mechanisms of the fifteen or so girls (aged 12-18) who attend the bi-weekly sessions.
“My sister and cousin were very instrumental in my development at that age, so I just wanted to find a way to help other girls in the ways that they (sister and cousin) helped me,” Diggs said.
Unfortunately, neither her cousin nor sister lived long enough to see Diggs become the catalyst that she is today.
“Alyse (her cousin) was killed in an automobile accident in Baltimore in 2002, and Ellenette (her sister) was murdered (in Hamlet) in 2006,” Danielle relates.
Thus the inspiration for the acronym FAR: Felice, Alyse, and Rochelle are, respectively, the middle names of Diggs, her cousin, and sister.
“They helped me – now I help others,” Diggs stated, almost stoically, of the guidance and inspiration provided by her sister and cousin.
