Florida woman made stronger by life's battles is now helping others

MIAMI - A South Florida woman who was made stronger by some of life's toughest battles is now helping others who are struggling.

For Belinda Knox, life was anything but easy.

"I was the woman that was out there in the streets doing my thing. I was that woman that had lost her kids to the system. I was that woman that was on drugs. I was that woman that people thought wouldn't make it," she said.

Knox said well over 20 years ago she was bound by the ways of the streets. She said her biggest challenge came when she was told she wasn't fit to be a mother.

"Not being a mom, then people thinking you can't be a mom. When they say 'OK, we're going to terminate your parent rights, that you're not good enough, because of all the things that you have done,'" she said.

Knox said that was her turning point.

"I said enough is enough and I don't want to be like this," she said.

Knox said she got herself together, got clean, moved to South Florida and got her kids back. In August 2000 she founded the nonprofit Woman 2 Woman to help change the lives of people who found themselves on the wrong side of the tracks.

"I do it because I love it," she said. "I do it because I was that chick that needed someone to care for me."

Woman 2 Woman serves hundreds of men and women, connecting them with resources to get them back on their feet. Knox's impact is felt by those she's met on their journey.

Angel Robertson described Knox as "a beacon of light whenever I felt like it was just too dark."

"You can't even count the number of individuals that you help when you continue to walk in your purpose, and she does every day," said Josefa Benjamin, CEO of the Born on Purpose Project.

Knox credits God and those who helped her along the way for the success of her business. She said she hopes that those she comes in contact with evolve for the better, just like she did.