Crystal Latham was ankle-deep in mud at the Bayou View Apartments and loving every minute of it.
“I’m replacing an inch-and-a-half cast-iron pipe with an inch-and-a-half PVC pipe, for a 22-feet water line,” Latham cheerfully explained to an uncomprehending reporter. “It busted, so we cut it out and are replacing it with some PVC pipe and a couple couplings.”
The work is going so well that the manager of the apartment complex put her on retainer to keep up with plumbing issues there.
Latham, 36, proprietor of Crystal Latham All and All AC and Maintenance LLC, spent most of her career in childcare, but never lost her fond memories of helping her father fix things around the house.
“I have three older brothers and I’m the only girl, so I was right there wanting to learn and come right along and help, too.”
Latham has three children, ranging from 14 to 18.
“That’s a great feeling that I’m able to do the job that can make the money to provide my kids’ colleges and growing up and just taking care of them,” Latham said.
Construction School Improves Lives of Women
Moore Community House and its Women in Construction school in Biloxi were Latham’s bridge to a new, higher-paying career. She graduated two years ago — one of more than 1,000 women who have completed the program, which teaches women the basics of being a construction worker. The school also offers bilingual classes to accommodate immigrants, who constitute about 10% of participants, and boasts a 70% job-placement rate.
Moore Community House is one of more than 80 National Mission Institutions in the U.S. that United Women in Faith supports with grants. It’s also one of the many charitable institutions that has struggled because of federal funding cuts by the Trump administration.
“The Women in Construction program, started in 2008 post-Hurricane Katrina, initially received a $3.5 million, four-year Department of Labor grant in 2016, which supported short-term training and childcare services for low-income women,” said Ruth Mazara, the program’s director. “A grant from the Women’s Bureau of the Labor Department, terminated in May 2025, led to a $250,000 funding shortfall.”
The program also gets funding from the Kellogg and Lowe’s foundations and United Women in Faith, who granted more than $1.2 million to National Mission Institutions last year.
Community House Do More Than Teach Skills
Posted on many walls of the building’s maze-like interior were encouraging quotes such as “Don’t Quit Your Daydream,” “Do It With Passion” and “Girl Boss.”
The Women in Construction program teaches more than new skills.
“They could easily just offer you the skills and be like, ‘There you go,’” Williams-Haynes said. “But, no, they really have you take care of your body and mental state, because it’s really important in the work setting, because if you’re angry and you show up to work, that isn’t going to work out with teamwork and everything.”
Most class sessions begin with light calisthenics and occasionally yoga.
“Every other Wednesday, we’ll have a licensed therapist come in, and he’ll speak,” Williams-Haynes said. “He stressed that when you’re in your construction site, you’ve got to have the right mental state and physical state.”
Latham is still at the beginning of her journey, but she has big ambitions.
“I just really want to expand my company,” she said.
An early goal is to get her own building where she can store air conditioning and plumbing equipment. Another is to hire a couple of helpers.
Your Generosity Supports Storytelling
By supporting the World Service Fund apportionment, you provide basic financial support to program-related general agencies, which are especially important to the common vision, mission, and ministry of The United Methodist Church.
excerpt from a story by Jim Patterson, UM News reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and Mike DuBose, freelance photographer in Nashville.
This story shows the impact of the World Service Fund—one of seven apportionment funds of The United Methodist Church—to connect our hearts and resources in mission around the world. Through this fund, the Church supports global ministries, discipleship, evangelism, education, and social justice work that transform lives and communities. Together, we share the love of Christ across boundaries and bring hope where it’s needed most.
When your church contributes faithfully to the World Service Fund, you help the whole Church live out God’s mission in every place.
