The Battle Life Center aims to change women's lives

Amanda Wheeler hopes Sunday will be the start of a new chapter not just for her but also for other young women.

The Arnold resident is holding a soft opening for The Battle Life Transitional Living Center in Arnold. The center, aimed at women 24 and older, is meant to help them transition out of homelessness, abusive relationships or other debilitating life circumstances.

“I want to make this launch more about the gaps in mental health and the difference between therapy and coaching,” Wheeler said. “Not enough people realize that you can be fully functioning on the outside but, on the inside, you are tearing down.”

Community members of all ages are invited to enjoy food, trivia, bingo, a basket raffle and a tour of the downstairs amenities. Wheeler is dedicating the house to a friend she lost to suicide.

Lost Dreams Awakening of New Kensington, a potential partner with The Battle Life, will be represented at the event.

Laurie Johnson-Wade, co-founder of Lost Dreams Awakening, is honored to play a part in something that will positively impact the community. Her center will support women living at The Battle Life by providing free recovery coaching, referrals for housing, trauma care and a holistic approach to healing.

“Recovery is a community endeavor,” Johnson-Wade said.

The Battle Life will also be seeking financial and community service support. Wheeler has already received donations that have gone toward renovating the house.

Her next goal is to buy the lot next door to secure off-street parking, as recommended by Arnold officials, and to remodel office space in the house.

The Battle Life will begin a waiting list for women seeking support through a variety of challenges.

“I’m not just housing women, but I want to transition them into a new way of living,” Wheeler said. “There’s nothing like knowing that there is someone right next door who can help.”

Services would include job placement help, life skills development, resume building and counseling, Wheeler said previously.

The Battle Life’s mission grew from Wheeler’s own battles. She lost her great-grandfather in 2021 when she was in nursing school and battled mental health issues, relationships and suicide.

“I was looking for answers and I couldn’t find support or help,” Wheeler said. She then turned to her church, counseling and a YouTube life coach named Tony Gaskins, whom she would watch daily.

Wheeler lost her great-grandmother in 2022, staying by her side as a caretaker until the end. Wheeler recalled her great-grandmother’s favorite song being “The Battle Is Not Yours” by Yolanda Adams, giving rise to The Battle Life name. The mission statement of the organization is based on each letter of the word “battle”: “Believe in yourself. Accept challenges. Trust the process. Take action. Learn from setbacks. Emerge stronger.”

“In order to win the war, you have to go through the battle first and train,” Wheeler said. “The Battle Life is training for what life is.”

It can be said that Wheeler’s whole plan sprang from a dream.

Wheeler’s sister called her in August 2023 about a dream she had — that Wheeler was running a transitional home.

Despite trying to “brush off” the initial conversation with her sister, she couldn’t stop thinking about the idea and went to work.

“People need help and deserve a second chance,” Wheeler said.

Her sister is “my right-hand man and she stuck with me through the whole process, even though she’s in Virginia,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler says life’s battles will come, but they also will go. “How you move through them is how you get through them,” she said.

“Believe in the battle and believe in yourself,” Wheeler said. “Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and be encouraged in knowing that there is support.”