We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Bowman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Stephanie Bowman, and I’m the Founder and CEO of One Heart for Women and Children, based in Orlando, Florida. But before I became the leader of one of the largest food providers in Central Florida, I was a mother fighting for my life, my children, and my future.

In 1999, I hit rock bottom. I was homeless, fleeing domestic violence, battling addiction, and had just lost custody of my children. I know firsthand what it feels like to fall apart—and how hard it is to rebuild. But through the grace of God, support from others, and a lot of hard work, I got sober, got my children back, and slowly began to heal.

In 2008, I founded One Heart not just as a nonprofit, but as a lifeline. What started in the back of my car has grown into an organization that now serves over 20,000 people each month, offering food, clothing, hygiene supplies, baby items, and hope. We are a resource center and community hub that helps individuals and families navigate real-life challenges—homelessness, hunger, poverty, trauma—and find a pathway forward.

We never closed during COVID—in fact, we grew overnight, scaling from serving 3,000 people a month to 20,000. We fed families when everything else shut down. We adapted, showed up, and let people know they weren’t alone.

What sets us apart is that we meet people where they are, without judgment, and walk alongside them. My team and I understand crisis because we’ve lived it. We don’t see numbers—we see stories, families, children, and hearts. We’re people helping people. It’s that simple.

Today, I’m also a Certified Life Coach, author, and passionate advocate for recovery and community healing. I use my platform to educate, inspire, and empower others, especially women and single parents, showing that recovery is possible and that you can turn pain into purpose.

What I’m most proud of is not just the scale of our work—it’s the love and dignity behind it. Whether it’s packing a bag of groceries, providing diapers to a struggling mom, or celebrating someone’s first clean day, every act of service is personal. Every story matters.

To those learning about me and One Heart for the first time: Know that this is more than a nonprofit—it’s a movement of compassion, built on my lived experience and fueled by hope. And we’re just getting started.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 1999, I found myself at the lowest point of my life. I was a mother who had lost her children, battling addiction, fleeing domestic violence, and experiencing homelessness—all at once. I remember sitting on a park bench in Orlando, completely broken, with nothing but a trash bag of clothes and a silent prayer. I had no idea how I’d survive, let alone rebuild.

But I made a choice—to fight. To get clean. To get my kids back. To become the woman they needed and the woman I was always meant to be. That was the beginning of a long, painful, beautiful road to recovery.

Years later, in 2008, I took that experience and turned it into purpose by founding One Heart for Women and Children. And when the pandemic hit in 2020, we were faced with another mountain. Families were in crisis. Food insecurity skyrocketed. Most places closed—but we stayed open. We scaled from helping 3,000 people a month to over 20,000 overnight, providing food, diapers, hygiene items, and hope every single day.

We didn’t have all the answers. But we had heart. And we kept showing up.

Resilience, for me, isn’t about avoiding hardship—it’s about choosing love and service in the middle of it. That’s how I’ve lived, and it’s how I lead.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was that asking for help was a sign of weakness. Growing up and especially in my early adult years, I believed I had to carry everything on my own shoulders—pain, responsibility, survival. When I lost everything in 1999—my children, my home, my sobriety—I hit a wall. I realized that no amount of pretending to be strong could heal me. I had to reach out.

I had to let others in.

Accepting help—whether it was a warm meal, a recovery meeting, or just someone sitting with me without judgment—wasn’t weakness. It was courage. And it saved my life.

That’s why at One Heart, we make it clear: Everyone needs help sometimes, and that’s okay. We’re here to give it, without shame or conditions. Because I learned that real strength comes from community, vulnerability, and love.

That lesson changed everything for me—and now I do everything I can to pass it on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bstephanie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneheartmatters/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneHeartMatters/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/one-heart-for-women-and-children
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephaniebowman9893
• Other: https://helponeheart.org/

Image Credits

Dylan Schimka