About Me
Who I Am
Hi. My name is LaKeesha Hines. Born and raised in West Palm Beach makes me a native Floridian. I moved to Tampa to pursue my education. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 14 years, however we have known each other over 30 years. We have four beautiful children and two wonderful godchildren. I love art, music, poetry, dancing, and dining. Some of the things I enjoy are attending live concerts, trying out new restaurants, entertaining, and hosting game nights and other events for couples.
For more than a decade I have helped people work through difficult situations and overcome trials and tribulations. As a trainer, I have held countless workshops and seminars to motivate, empower, and uplift people.
Through my personal experience, formal education, and professional training, I gained considerable customer service, listening, organizational and reasoning skills. Not only do these skills allow me to provide succor for my clients but culminated the creation of my non-profit organization, Support4Caregivers. I am co-founder and CEO. This non-profit organization supports families who have children with disabilities by providing resources, education, and a support group.
Overall, my passion is to facilitate the success of others by providing them with the necessary tools, support, education and resources. As a published author, my two books are currently the resources I am most proud of. I was hurt, I got healed, and now I’m helping. John Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” I AM a leader, and I am here to lead you.
What I Do
I’m a Fire Starter! I help individuals and couples ignite the fire within. If you are looking to find your passion or purpose in life, Fire Starter Coaching Services is for you. You will receive guidance and direction from someone who has been where you are. Waking up every morning going through life on autopilot unsure of who I was or what I wanted was my existence for years. It wasn’t until I realized my passion, that I found my purpose, which led to profit. God revealed my gift. I am here to help you stir up your gift(s). When you bring your gift and/ or passion to light, you become unstoppable.
Who I Serve
While I live in the Tampa Bay area, I serve individuals, couples, and families in my home town and all around the world.
Educational Experience
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology
Master’s Degree in School Counseling
Certified Professional Life Coach
Professional Experience
As a Parent Liaison, I coached parents of children with disabilities. They were taught how to navigate the school system, their rights, role, and responsibilities, and how to appropriately advocate for their children. I developed and delivered workshops, seminars, and trainings to parents, teachers, and district personnel.
As a Psychology professor at three local colleges, learners increased their knowledge of the psyche to include the physiological structures within the brain. Students were able to increase their knowledge of human behavior and what is needed to shift it. Equally beneficial was learning about human development across the lifespan. This aided students in discovering the connections between past childhood experiences, how they show up as adults in the present, and prepared them for the developmental changes in the various stages of adulthood.
As a School Counselor, I counseled students to overcome social, behavioral, and academic goals through individual and group counseling. I facilitated information sessions and trainings for students, parents, and staff.
I remember going through life unsure of who I wanted to be or more importantly, who God wanted me to be. After going through several job changes, I finally realized that every experience led me here. Being a Certified Professional Life Coach, I have the honor of helping others find their way. Working with clients to help them to discover their passion and purpose in life has been a dream come true. Likewise, I experience profound joy when I help couples find their way after years of hurt, pain, and sometimes trauma. There is no greater love than the love of God. Serving individuals and couples in this way increases God’s love for me and that is all I need. I provide relationship coaching and crisis intervention to couples and individuals who are struggling with a myriad of issues in their lives. Couples who desire to re-ignite the passion in their relationship can find it here. I help you create the spark and keep the flame.
About Fire Starters
My husband and I met in the 3rd grade. We were friends all throughout elementary, middle, and high school. We did not begin to date until our senior year in high school. We continued to date long-distance while in college. Being young, immature, and ill-equipped with the necessary tools to sustain a healthy relationship, we decided to end our relationship. We needed to separate for a time so that we could mature mentally and spiritually. Through my own experience and with the training I have received, I am able to help couples with issues surrounding dating while long-distance.
During our time apart, we both had other relationships and one of mine led to the birth of our oldest son. I know what it is like to be a single mother trying to balance work, school, and motherhood. Tragedy brought us back together. After we reconnected, we maintained a friendship and it was through that friendship that we realized we still had feelings for one another. We began dating again long-distance. This experience coupled with my training affords me the ability to help couples get their friendship back.
We continued to date long-distance seeing each other probably every 3 months as broke college students. Eventually, our second son was born. As a result of bacterial meningitis, our son developed tremendous health issues and developmental delays. My husband wanted and needed to be with his family, but most importantly his son. The long-distance quickly came to an end. I wish I could tell you that was when the fairytale continued. The truth is, it is when tragedy struck even more. Our son was in and out of the hospital, I was working two jobs and going to school, we had our other son to care for, and there was little time to nurture or cultivate our union. Over the years we grew apart. There were communication, family, financial, health, intimacy issues, and more. How did we overcome? We improved our individual relationships with God, we had personal growth, we went to counseling, and we learned how to make time for each other. I became a relationship expert of my husband first, then I began my formal training.
About Support4Caregivers
One of the most painful experiences was watching our 5-month-old baby experience multiple, uncontrollable seizures back-to-back and be resuscitated TWICE! He was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, which if not treated promptly can lead to death. This was almost the story for my son. He survived two strokes and multiple seizures. Because of hydrocephalus (fluid collecting around the brain causing pressure), he had to have surgery to implant a shunt to drain the fluid away from his brain. His medical journey put a strain on my marriage as well as our individual lives over the years. He is now an adult and thriving. Our special needs journey began with meningitis which is why we are passionate about educating others about the importance of obtaining vaccination to protect against it.
My son’s health journey led me to becoming a liaison. I started my mission as a link to facilitate communication and cooperation between caregivers of children with special needs and medical professionals, professionals within the school system, and the community. The goal is to create a close working relationship between caregivers and various organizations. In this role, I resolve a variety of issues and complaints from parents concerned about the academic success of their children with disabilities. Serving as a liaison between parents and District personnel, I provide and interpret information about school procedures and instructional programs, coach parents to become effective supporters for their children, and facilitate trainings for all parties involved.
