Tanya McCleary takes a call while applying solution to Vanessa Prentiss’ hair as customers wait under dryers for their turn Saturday at Nappie Roots.(Melanie Duncan Thortis The Vicksburg Post)

[12/29/03]Nearly 10 years later, one of the first graduates of The Initiative has a success story of her own.

Tanya Jones McCleary, who in 1994 received her barber’s license after completing classes at Hinds Community College, is now celebrating her own business’s first year.

And, she says, she owes it all to The Initiative.

The program was started as a public-private partnership to offer all-in-one services to single parents seeking a way off public assistance.

Apartments were built on the site of a former drive-in movie off Clay Street and applications were taken. To be in The Initiative, a parent agrees to attend academic and other classes and be prepared to move out into the world. In return, rent and day care are provided.

Before joining the program, McCleary was struggling to make ends meet while trying to give her two sons a good home.

“I was more concerned with having money to take care of my kids,” McCleary, now 37, said. “I wanted to go to school but couldn’t figure out a way to go to school and take care of the house.

“The Initiative helped me with that.”

The Initiative was created in 1992, during the administration of former Mayor Robert Walker.

McCleary said the program’s biggest assets were day care and after-school services for her kids.

After graduation, McCleary got a job at Designs by Jackie, and has continued in the cosmetology field since.

Her customers say she’s found her niche.

At her Washington Street business, called Nappie Roots, they keep her busy.

“Three people have already gone out the door,” said Mary Jackson, as two others waited under dryers for their turn for McCleary to work her magic. “She works so fast; that’s what we like about her.”

McCleary usually sees about 10 or 15 customers each day, but the holidays have been particularly rushed.

“Everyone wants their hair done last minute,” she said. Not that she minds: “I’ve been blessed. I have faithful customers and my faith in God.”

Her husband of nearly four years, Garland McCleary, helps keep the overhead costs low by doing maintenance work and helping around the salon.

“She stays busy, and we’re so grateful,” he said.

Now Tanya McCleary wants to help others who were in shoes like hers. To do that, she plans to hire others who graduate from The Initiative. McCleary has openings for two other stylists and a nail technician.

“I want to try to help people like Designs by Jackie helped me,” she said.

Since its inception The Initiative, now managed by Leah Sullivan, has enrolled 120 people in the program.

Regina Rankin, former director, worked in nearly every capacity at the program before resigning as administrator in August.

She said McCleary is a fine example of the program’s purpose.

“This is exactly what we’re talking about people realizing their dreams,” Rankin said. “Going from not having a degree to owning your own business is quite an achievement.”