BATON ROUGE - Throughout her childhood, Tamaika Cook was in foster care. She was emancipated at the age of 16. From that time until her 30s she struggled with homelessness.

"I ran from house to house," she said.

Now that she has a stable lifestyle, she aims to help those going through similar situations. Since August, she has been making homecooked meals and bringing them to homeless shelters in Downtown Baton Rouge. She goes to different communities to spread the word about what she does.

"I normally go out to the downtown area and reach out to people and pass out food. I've helped some people at the One Stop with clothes, medical attention and rides," she said.

Cook's life experiences weren't her only inspiration. She says her grandmother used to pass out homemade meals to those in need. She feels it's important to follow her legacy.

"My goal is to mainly reach those that are really truly in need because they are overlooked," she said.

Her ultimate goal is to start a non-profit that caters to those who share similar life experiences. A group home for runaways and a center for recovering addicts are a couple of things she'd like to accomplish. She encourages the needy to take action to get out of their situations and not be afraid to ask for help.

"As long as you have breath in your body and you are able-bodied, you can do it. You cannot feel sorry for yourself because of the circumstances you're in. You have to get up and do something about the situation," she said.

Cook also shares that one of the first things she did to help herself was to strengthen her faith. She feels that this has helped her a lot.

"Seek God and ask God to honor your footsteps. Let God lead the way," she said.