How a custody battle helped this south Phoenix woman find voice for her community
Even though she was born and raised in south Phoenix, Dana Burns didn’t always see herself as a voice for her community. But after looking back on all that she’s overcome, she heard a call to service.
Burns often says there is victory in her voice, opting to use phrases like “I will” and “I can” to describe her efforts to reach her goals — no “maybes” or “hopefullys.”
But before she was ready to give to her community, she had to give her all to bring her daughter back home.
“It’s just me and her,” Burns told The Arizona Republic. “Everything I do is for her, and the community of course, but she’s my No. 1.”
Finding her voice
Burns raised her daughter, Tierra Neal, from infancy but they are not biologically related. The two became close when Burns was dating Neal’s father, but Burns soon realized she and her daughter needed to distance themselves from him. But because she and Neal weren’t related, the court determined Neal had to stay with her father.
It was a confusing, heartbreaking time for both of them. Neal was about 6 years old when Burns and her father broke up and 11 when Burns' battle for guardianship started. Neal remembers her father telling her to say she didn’t want to see Burns anymore. She started to feel trapped and scared.
“I was afraid when (my father) would tell me I couldn’t see her,” Neal said. “I wanted to see her, but I was afraid to speak up.”
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But when Neal’s father was arrested after leading police on a pursuit in 2017 with Neal in the backseat, Burns was able to pull together enough money to hire a lawyer. She was eventually awarded guardianship of Neal.
That’s when she was inspired to create her nonprofit A Permanent Voice Foundation, its name a symbol of her custody fight.
“I felt that I didn’t have a voice going back and forth through these courts,” Burns said. “She didn’t have a voice as a kid telling them ‘don’t take me from her.’”
She added the word “permanent” to symbolize being awarded permanent guardianship of Neal. It had been two years since she was able to see Neal and the two worked on strengthening their relationship again and eventually, Neal became a staple member of A Permanent Voice Foundation.
Burns began her nonprofit in 2018 two months before she gained custody of Neal with the goal to reform child welfare and Arizona Department of Child Safety policies in Phoenix, but when she became involved with GrandFamilies Place, an affordable housing complex for seniors in south Phoenix, through a charitable summer program, she bonded with the senior citizens receiving services.
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Burns realized that many were having a difficult time financially and some were even raising their grandchildren, so she partnered with more nonprofits to do things like serve hot meals and deliver books. She decided this would be her calling.
“I was, like, falling in love with these people, literally,” Burns said. “So the summer ended but I felt the need to continue to help these people. … We would get out and serve them, interact with them, play games with them and life you could see was happening.”
Blessed by the community
Burns said she’s spent years learning from her past and refining her candor to speak firmly, effectively and without anger. It seems that with each passing day, she finds more causes and people to connect with. To her, it’s only natural to give wherever she can.
She’s used her platform and newfound connections to speak out on issues affecting south Phoenix, like crosswalks in dangerous intersections, parental mental health and police accountability, in addition to the work she does for the seniors receiving her services.
“I’m a willing servant,” Burns said. “I’m a willing participant to help others. I think it is our purpose to serve others, to respect others, to love others, to share love with one another.”
As Burns and Neal’s relationship blossomed again, the two have been able to lead protests and orchestrate clothing, food and toy drives multiple times a year for the seniors at GrandFamilies Place even as the pandemic strained nonprofits like hers.
Last Christmas, Burns' friend and supporter Roy Dawson — executive director of the Arizona Center for African American Resources — referred former Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander to A Permanent Voice as Burns was preparing for a Christmas drive. She didn’t want to ask him for too much, but Alexander insisted on giving her $5,000 to buy everything she needed. She was able to bring Christmas gifts to all 54 families she works with.
“During the pandemic, giving became scarce,” Burns recalls. “But God always has a ram in the bush. (Alexander) really blessed those families.”
Much of Burns’ work in recent years is a result of partnerships with other organizations and grant funding, which she calls “blessings.” Most recently, she partnered with local radio station Mega 104.3 FM and Waba Hair and Beauty Supply to fundraise for 50 laptops for seniors raising their grandchildren.
Burns is spearheading the Shoot Your Shot program, a program in partnership with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to empower incarcerated people, reduce recidivism and encourage people to leave toxic environments.
The idea came to her after reading the eponymous book by Vernon Brundage Jr. that combined self-help, basketball and scripture.
In her program, she hopes to share with incarcerated people a love of reading, writing and empowering vocabulary, and instill a positive opinion of themselves and their lives. Burns said she understands their plight as someone who has been incarcerated before and was able to overcome it, obtain four college degrees and put herself on a new path.
Burns served 30 days in jail after pleading guilty in 2004 to theft. She was arrested again in 2006, this time with Neal's father, and accused of stealing from her employer, the City of Phoenix. News outlets aired her previous conviction but seemingly never reported that, while Neal's father plead guilty to trafficking in the identity of another person and was sentenced to five years in prison, all charges against Burns were dismissed.
She is open when talking about the experiences, as they led her to change her life and devote it to helping others.
“It’s just a standstill,” Burns said. “It’s just a pause on our music. We’ve got our pause, fast forward and play, right? So right now, you’re at that pause and at any moment, that release day will be their play date when they push play.”
She dreams of going global with this program and expanding it to students and professional development for the community she holds dear.
A call to service
South Phoenix may not be the wealthiest community, but it is rich because of the families who have lived there for generations and transformed it from an empty swath of desert to a thriving community, she said.
“We are rich people in south Phoenix, rich with love, rich with compassion for our people,” she said. “We respect one another in south Phoenix. It’s just love down there.”
The strength in her community is something Burns hopes her charitable efforts expand upon. For Neal, who is now 16, her mother’s efforts in the community helped her see how big just one action can be.
“You can change a lot of people’s lives with little stuff, like with clothes and food,” Neal said. “You can be a blessing to others.”
Burns’ only lament is that she is one person and can’t do it all by herself, something Neal teases her about because of how involved she is outside of her regular job. There’s been times that Burns wishes she was superwoman so she can be present for her daughter and the community at the same time, Burns said.
These days, Neal wants to be an actress, her grades are steady and her home life is peaceful. Her interest in the arts has made her more confident, but she’s taken a lot of her inspiration from Burns. During a recent conversation, she giggled as she explained why she says Burns is so strong.
“You do a lot of stuff by yourself,” Neal told Burns. “Through God, of course, but it’s always good. You always do a good job.”
Megan Taros covers south Phoenix for The Arizona Republic. Have a tip? Reach her at mtaros@gannett.com or on Twitter @megataros. Her coverage is supported by Report for America and a grant from the Vitalyst Health Foundation.
This story is part of the Faces of Arizona series. Have feedback or ideas on who we should cover? Send them to editor Kaila White at kaila.white@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Dana Burns founded nonprofit A Permanent Voice to serve south Phoenix
