Stephanie Tillman
Some days, Stephanie Tillman of Olathe, Kansas thinks she must be dreaming. Not that her life is perfect - it’s not - but she has come so far, achieved so much more than she’d ever expected, with lots of future yet to come. It was a long and difficult journey to get to this place, but one that she cherishes. Because she will tell you, without hesitation, that without the journey, her life today would not be possible.
Stephanie and her husband, Shomari, point to 2002 as the year their lives changed. Both in their mid-20’s at the time, they had reached rock bottom, their lives spinning out of control after years of being addicted to drugs and alcohol. Unemployable and desperate, the couple had resorted to selling almost everything they owned to get money to buy drugs. The final straw came when they lost their home. With no place to live and two young children to care for, they took a leap of faith and turned to The Salvation Army for help.
Initially thinking they would only stay one week, the family lived in The Salvation Army Family Lodge in Olathe for four months. During that time, Stephanie says The Salvation Army helped turn their lives around. “They never judged, they only showed us love,” said Stephanie. “It was this unconditional love that gave us the strength to conquer our addictions, commit to our family and place God at the center of our lives. And that has made all the difference in the world.”
It was during their time at the Shelter that the Tillman’s realized they needed to let go of control and leave it in God’s hands. “Now I realize that being homeless was the best thing that ever happened to us. It gave us an opportunity to start over and become exactly who we wanted to be. You can’t rebuild your life until you are truly broken.”
After leaving the shelter, the Tillman’s began the process of putting their lives back together. Both found jobs and a place to live and started to attend The Salvation Army church on Sundays. Stephanie was asked by a friend to design a poster for a small non-profit. Although she had no experience in design work and no college degree, she dove into the project, learning as she went. The final product was well received and that gave her the courage to do more design work. After several years of doing free-lance design work on the side, Stephanie took the plunge in 2007, left her full time job and opened her own graphic design business called Crossover Graphics, which she recently renamed ikros.com. The company provides websites and print design services for small businesses, ministries, musicians and filmmakers. Shomari left his fulltime job to become head of technology, operations and audio for the company while Stephanie serves as CEO. They have five employees and expect to expand in the near future.
Last fall, at a ribbon cutting ceremony for her company’s new headquarters, a 3,500 square foot office in a suburban strip mall, Stephanie pledged $25,000 to help The Salvation Army build a new homeless shelter in Olathe. Their name will hang on a plaque in room number four in the new facility – the same room in which they lived in 2002 - to serve as an inspiration to future residents. “We want to give them hope, to know that even in the worst of times, something good can come out of it,” said Shomari.
Today Ikros.com is a million dollar company that has continued to grow even during the economic recession, over 500% last year alone. And Stephanie continues to tell her story, hoping it will help others who find themselves in the same plight she and her family were in nine years ago. Over the past six months, she has done numerous interviews with radio, television and newspaper outlets across the country. She and her family remain members of The Salvation Army church in Olathe, which they say has been one of the biggest blessings in their lives.
There are many things Stephanie has learned over the past nine years and, she admits, still much to be learned. She finds strength in what she calls her Life Bible verse, Romans 5:3-5: “But we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
“...being homeless was the best thing that ever happened to us. It gave us an opportunity to start over and become exactly who we wanted to be. You can’t rebuild your life until you are truly broken.”
