Sariya Birdine
Sariya Birdine loves her family more than anything else. When asked about what it means to be a mom, Sariya says, “when you wake up, the first thing you have to do is care for someone else,” adding “I have never felt so whole.” Beyond being a devoted mother, Sariya is also a friend, teacher, and advocate. She navigates safety net programs with patience and determination, using her own experiences to support other families and to push for improvements to these programs. Whether it's ensuring her own children are fed, or helping her neighbors access resources, Sariya works to make sure every child has access to the food they need to thrive.
Sariya’s kids never fail to make her laugh. She laughs when describing her six-year-old son, DeVaunte, calling him “a jokester who is a grown man in a little man’s body.” Every day, DeVaunte picks a few flowers from the yard for his mom, a small ritual that has quickly become one of Sariya’s favorite parts of the day. Sariya’s youngest, four-year-old Da'Laila, shares her kind and easy-going nature. Da'Laila has a playful spirit and can turn anything into a game. Her light-hearted nature makes her easy to love. DeVaunte and Da'Laila are inseparable. Whether it be Minecraft or Legos, you will often find them peacefully playing together.
Sariya loves being a mother, but she is the first to admit that raising a family in a one-income household is hard work. Like many other families, Sariya relies on safety net programs, like SNAP and WIC, to help put food on the table.
In the fall of 2023, Sariya’s SNAP benefits were unexpectedly terminated. Unsure of what to do, Sariya reached out to the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) for help. TJC swiftly contacted the Department of Human Services (DHS), the state agency that administers the SNAP program, to resolve the issue. Thanks to TJC's efforts, Sariya’s family regained the benefits they had lost over the previous three months, and they were reenrolled in the program. TJC also helped Sariya navigate barriers to transportation to secure WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits for her family. To Sariya, these benefits mean the world: “even the fruit that I get on WIC, it helps so much. It saves me money that I can then invest into our life.”
Sariya’s compassion for others extends far beyond her family. As a proud Nashville native, her roots in Tennessee run deep. At TJC’s invitation, Sariya spoke at a state agency and advocacy convention focused on improving the state’s safety net programs. Sariya confidently shared her story to the crowd of advocates and agency representatives, discussing how SNAP and WIC have supported her family, articulating her difficulty accessing the programs on her own, and highlighting the importance of TJC in securing her the benefits she is entitled. Sariya’s comments were spot-on. She offered a perspective that was both personal and directly relevant to the issues at hand.
Sariya at times feels overwhelmed balancing the demands of caring for her two children while also taking care of herself. She is open about how her mental health and physical health have shaped her journey and continue to impact her role as a mother. It’s not always easy, but Sariya finds strength in her small yet supportive network, especially in her mother. She reflects on the challenges her family faced when she was a child—her mom, also a single mother, raised four kids while battling cancer twice. Sariya’s mother’s resilience inspires her to strive for the delicate balance of being the mother her children need while also caring for her own well-being.
Sariya finds strength in her kids to keep going: “my kids are that extra strength that I need ... and you won’t find that strength anywhere else.” Sariya understands the role access to nutritious food plays in supporting her dreams for her children: “I want them to explore their creativity with no limits.” The Tennessee Justice Center is honored to recognize Sariya Birdine as a 2025 Mother of the Year.
Photo by KPL Photography
