Mildred Ursel Lopez is currently part of Neutral Voices Media Group and Our Neutral Voices. Mildred is originally from New York City but has been a resident of Fort Wayne since May 2005, raising four children three daughters ages 28, 19, and 17, and a son 27. Mildred is also a grandmother ‘Wela’ to three boys ages 6, 5, and 2. Mildred was born to Puerto Rican parents, Jose Luis Lopez and Noemi Lopez (passed October 31,2001). Mildred is the eldest of five, a brother from same parents and a brother and two sisters from her dad’s second relationship.
Mildred Lopez
At the age of 11 Mildred and her brother were placed in the foster care system of NYC, as both her parents struggled with addition, mental illness and going in and out of jail. She was placed in the home of her godparents, her mother’s eldest brother, her uncle and his wife. She was raised in a Pentecostal home where she was not able to listen to secular music, go to the beach or to the movies, or anything that was considered ‘worldly’. She ran away from the foster home at the age of 16 yet she managed to finish high school where she attended Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn NY while working full time through a Co-Op program and obtained her diploma along with a business degree. She then went on to attend Sullivan County Community College in Upstate Loch Sheldrake NY majoring in Business Management and Accounting. She also on the volleyball team, flag football, and managed the men’s basketball team, however her stent was short as she became pregnant and was unable to finish her education at that time. She also was unable to return to her family in New York City and at the age of 18 she found herself with little money, no place to go and expecting. She took a chance and she got on a bus to Springfield, Massachusetts to start over and then found herself homeless.
In Massachusetts while finding herself sleeping in the bus terminal, she met a police officer who took her to a local shelter that housed teen mothers, he later became the father of her second child. Here she went back to college this time majoring in Medical Assisting which she completed earning her an Associate Degree in Science, while attending college she worked at a local law firm. After graduation she was employed at a local clinic and part time at the law firm. She also ran the largest nightclub in New England handling security, promoting, and the day to day. Here she bought her first home and met the man that would become her husband and the father of her two younger children, but it was not all a bed of roses. One day Mildred her husband and her two children packed everything they could and relocated to Perry Georgia, as her husband was having a difficult time obtaining employment due to his background.
In Perry, Mildred was employed at the local hospital as an interpreter and volunteered as the executive assistant at Perry Volunteer Outreach, a non-profit organization that helped anyone who had a need. While she gave of her time to others, she was experiencing abuse, physically, mentally and emotionally in her marriage. Shortly after 9/11 on October 31, 2001 Mildred lost her mother in NYC, nine months later she gave birth to her third child after having tried for two years. The abuse did not go way after she gave birth instead it was intensifying and Mildred miscarried two pregnancies before having her fourth child and after six years in various cities in Georgia, Mildred, with the help of her very best friend she took her four children packed a bag for herself and each child and left her husband. She went to a battered woman’s shelter in Statesboro Georgia where they helped her go to Fort Wayne Indiana where her brother lived with his wife and son.
Mildred’s intention as she recalls was to only ‘lay low’ for six months but God had other plans and 16 years later she is still here. Although Mildred has experienced so much in her life, Fort Wayne was no different, experiencing addiction, homelessness, cancer, weight gain, weight loss of over 200 pounds, loss of jobs, and the tragic death of her husband in 2019. Through it all she pushed forward eventually finding God, being saved, baptized in Jesus’ name and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Mildred has been very active in our community, having facilitated a Homeless Prevention program at the Fort Wayne Urban League, feeding the homeless with her church, teaching at a local women’s shelter, working writing grants for the Fort Wayne Boys and Girls club, volunteer Director for a halfway house for women and facilitated programs in our community such as the Healthy Eating Active Living program through the St Joe Community Foundation grant to help those not only learn to eat healthy but advocating the importance of healthy eating and active living to our physical, mental and emotional health having battled cervical cancer and losing over 200 pounds, overall health is extremely important to her as is her relationship with God. Her passions are in the area of domestic violence, addiction, homelessness, and mental health and having a relationship with God as a lifestyle and not a religion. Like this wasn’t enough Mildred was ordained as a Minister and Deaconess and is still active in ministry and community work.
As a survivor of domestic violence abuse and having recovered drug addictions and abuse herself, she has a passion for helping those who seemingly are unable to help themselves and for those who think they don’t have a voice. Unknowingly and unintentionally, she is also active in various social media platforms encouraging others despite what things look like in her life, her faith has kept her moving forward. She continues to serve in other projects throughout our community in the nonprofit realm like serving meals to the homeless, serving the elderly, participating in LSSI Works and obtaining a Certificate of Personal & Professional Development and does hold two Associates Degrees in Science: Accounting and Medical Assisting and has over 20+ years in Accounting and Administration fields. Which is no wonder why she became involved in Our Neutral Voices and Neutral Voices Media Group after hearing their mission and vision for our community. Mildred has a servant’s heart and comes ready to work and serve wherever she is needed. Her next goal is to finish writing her book.