Simone's Story at Domus
Domus builds loving relationships with young people facing adversity, empowering them to pursue their path to self-sufficiency.
“I just turned 21 years old yesterday, and I’ve achieved every goal that I had set.” Simone is employed with a full-time job, owns a car, just moved into her own apartment for her and her son, and runs her own dessert business on the side. “I’m a completely changed person.”
If you asked her at 19, she might have thought about herself differently. She remembers how stuck she felt then. “I was in a really rough patch where I couldn’t find a new job, no matter how much I applied where I was looking. Nothing was working for me.”
But then a friend told her about Domus Kids and their transitional employment program, DomusWorks. There, Simone had the chance to engage in a variety of work experiences to explore what she liked and where she excelled. In tandem, she started working with a youth development specialist, Keeya to build her professional skills, like emotional regulation and communication. Domus uses the Thoughts, Emotions, Behaviors (TEB) curriculum to teach their young people cognitive behavioral skills to help them build resiliency.
“If you’re having a bad day, TEB helps you regulate yourself and start over. If you’re having crazy thoughts, it helps you calm down and reset your brain to get through the situation you’re in. I use the TEB skills all the time,” Simone says. “It has taught me so much about myself, how I present myself, how I speak… and definitely with dealing with other people’s emotions, too, because you can’t let that change how you react, or who you are. You have control of your own feelings.”
Of the many social enterprises that Domus runs, “The bakery was my favorite,” Simone recalls. “I learned how to bake from scratch.” Keeya saw Simone’s leadership abilities and gave her increasing responsibilities. Soon, Simone says, she was “knocking orders out and helping the other girls.”
Simone is filled with love and gratitude for the people who supported her growth to help her get where she is today. “It just took some people to believe in me and give me a push. And Keeya did that.”