About Us

Our Story

Me and my sister, Wendi Faulk Martinez are proud to announce Loula Foundation named after our Granny, Katie Loula Faulk.  Loula Foundation was formed with her life lessons being the basis:

Looking back on our lives, we understood how important family was in our journey.  Without a strong, loving family, we would not be where we are today and, in turn, our children would not be where they are.  This led us to realize that we want every child to have the opportunities a strong, healthy family has to offer even if they do not necessarily have the same foundation.  

I don’t normally publicize this, but I was in an abusive relationship that affected my child. Not only was I in an abusive relationship but I turned to prescription medication to cover up the emotional pain I was in.  This put me into a completely different world than the one I was raised in.  It was a whirlwind of court dates on the civil (family court) and criminal side.   I had a husband with assault charges sitting in the District Attorney’s office, a child that was in the middle of an extremely ugly divorce and I ended up in a rehabilitation center.  Never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would end up in these situations.   I had grown up in this loving family but here I was.

Frustration with the legal system set in and not understanding how to navigate it was extremely overwhelming.   The criminal system where my husband had a file sitting in the DA’s office and me being sent to crime victims for support.  Asking for direction because I had been told by my husband that “if I thought I was going to take his son from him, it would be the last thing I ever did” didn’t go anywhere. 

I am a strong woman. I can stand my ground, but I had been beaten down to the point of fear.

Through all of this, my grandmother always gave me the advice to keep going. To give it to God. Hard to do when you are scared for your life, but easy to do when you truly believe that God will take care of it. I have persevered though many struggles because of her wisdom but I always knew that God would take care of me no matter what.

It is my son that suffered more than I did because the legal system left him in a situation he should have never been exposed to. I am grateful today that he does not have to deal with his father anymore, but it also makes me sad. Our system is broken…. It needs reform which could take years but in the meanwhile, we have the Loula Foundation .

Our mission is to provide the participants support for that “one thing” which will allow them to push through for them not to fall back into that abusive relationship or to keep them from relapsing.  To give hope with our stories of perseverance in the worst situations.  To provide financial support in certain situations that will allow the family unit to remain together and promote healthy relationships.  To ensure the participants understand that we do survive, and we do move on.   To do whatever we can to ensure that the children caught up in these environments have every possible chance to stay with their parents. 

It is our hope that we can make a difference in the life of just one child.   

Thank you for supporting us!

Cindy Perez