Photo by Trip Burns.
Lizzie Cooper separates her life into two distinct chapters: first, her "other life," as she calls it, as a successful businesswoman in Jackson for several decades. And then the one the 76-year-old is currently in—the selfless, philanthropic one she cares the most about. She emphasizes that she didn't choose the second phase in her life; it chose her.
It was in 1990 that Cooper, a Jackson native, opened up Double Trouble, a center for those afflicted with drug addiction and mental disorders in the Jackson area. Her son suffered from a mental disease, and she came to realize the pressing need for a place, other than a hospital, for these individuals to meet up, discuss their problems and feel like a part of a community.
Once-a-week meetings turned into a daily routine for Cooper, and what started out as an effort to welcome those with addiction and mental disorder turned into a full-on community help center. Cooper began using several of her former properties on Lynch Street as homeless shelters, community kitchens and after-school programs for children—all funded and organized by Cooper and a handful of faithful volunteers.
"When I was in public business," Cooper says of her "bourgeois" years, "all I wanted was for people to come and spend their money with me. Now, I just give everything away."
Perhaps Cooper's attitude comes from living in poverty herself as a child. Her childhood memories deal more with hunger and confusion than a positive upbringing. She was one of five daughters who grew up with more or less absent parents. She recalls having the power and water shut off in the house that she and her sisters grew up in, and how they routinely dug sweet potatoes out of a neighbor's garden just to have something to eat.
Cooper transitioned from an impoverished childhood into an affluent adulthood where she saw success in business and realty in the Jackson area. However, she never has been able to quell her childhood experiences, especially when she sees so many reflections of her own struggles in the people she encounters.
"I've never got away from that type of upbringing," she says. "I know what it is to be hungry. I know what it is to be abused and ridiculed without knowing why."
Cooper has used several locations on Lynch Street to serve the community, but you can find her today at 910 Lynch St. in a blue building with "Ms. Lizzie's Center" painted on the front in yellow. That's where she'll be just about every day, collecting food, appliances and other things to distribute to those in need. More importantly, though, the center is a refuge for those who just need a break from their troubles, and there's no telling how many people you'll see go through the doors or how many she's aided over the years.
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