Denise and Yessenia’s beautiful and lifelong bond traces back to their childhood, amid playful competitions and hearty fun.
Many years ago, Denise’s and Yessenia’s families were neighbors. Denise’s mother also often babysat Yessenia. As a child, Denise often accompanied her mother to Yessenia’s house and a friendship was born. Yessenia and Denise spent the early years of their childhood playing with dolls, swimming at Bushwick Pool, and enjoying hero sandwiches and ice cream together. They even went to summer camps together, winning games and growing their love and bond as friends.
“Yessenia and I have known each other since we were little,” Denise recalls fondly. “Yessenia lived down the hallway from where I lived. We were neighbors.”
“We used to go out a lot on trips to the beach and stuff,” Yessenia reminisces.
Denise’s and Yessenia’s shared childhood experiences laid the groundwork for a lifelong connection, one that would see them through many stages in life.
From defending Denise from bullies who didn’t understand special needs, to making sure Denise always had someone to talk to, Yessenia remained a steadfast friend and ally to Denise.
“I was always really close with Denise. I grew up with her being like my sister.”
As often happens later in life, these childhood friends eventually followed different paths and lost contact.
As a young adult, Yessenia embarked on a Direct Support professional (DSP) career working to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). At one point, Yessenia decided to take a break from the field.
“Working as a DSP involves a lot of emotional bandwidth, and I just needed some time off,” She recalls.
But one day, Denise tracked Yessenia on Facebook, reigniting their childhood friendship. Yessenia started visiting Denise, who lives in her own apartment with the support of CFS. The visits became more regular and Yessenia began to be a part of Denise’s life again, as a volunteer and friend, providing Denise with emotional support, as well as helping her with errands and tasks like paying the bills.
Yessenia and Denise began to enjoy their rekindled friendship!
“Denise is my sister. I know she’s not biologically my sister, but I love her with all my heart,” Yessenia shares.
Finally, Yessenia applied to CFS and formalized her role of a DSP and has been supporting Denise ever since. They now both dwell deep in the heart of CFS and much like so many other CFS staff and participants, Yessenia and Denise’s relationship has transcended traditional roles. However, what really makes their bond unique is that the two women also grew up together and thought they knew each other very well. That is until they discovered they had even more to learn and explore about one another!
A few months ago, Yessenia and Denise participated in a Personal Outcomes Measure (POM) workshop facilitated by Nadine Daley – CFS’s amazing Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Innovation and Advocacy – and a certified POM interviewer.
Nadine gives all the POM workshops at CFS, which are in partnership with CQL (The Council on Quality and Leadership). The workshops are built around the POM interview process, which involves asking the same 21 questions to both the person supported and the staff member. The process reveals insights into what makes participants with IDD feel happy, safe, and fulfilled while helping them identify new goals and celebrate achievements.
Nadine emphasizes the significance of these workshops, explaining that “POM helps us understand and better identify where we are as an agency, supporting individuals with IDD who have very real, specific, and attainable goals, dreams, and clear perceptions of their rights and what they want.”
Through the POM process, CFS can tailor support to meet the unique needs and aspirations of each participant.
For Yessenia, the POM workshop with Denise was a revelation. Despite their long history, Yesssenia discovered new facets of Denise’s life, dreams, and concerns through the POM interview process. She learned to ask more detailed questions, delving deeper into Denise’s feelings and safety concerns.
Denise leads an active and fulfilling life. She lives independently, plays bass guitar in her band, “The Brooklyn ARC Crew,” and works as a service helper at CitiField for the New York Mets. She also participates actively in her community. However, the POM workshop revealed Denise’s deep desire to perform with her band and her feeling unsafe traveling at night.
“I never asked these kinds of deeper questions before. So, for example, through the interview I discovered how unsafe Denise felt coming home late at night. I had no idea she felt that way,” Yessenia reflects.
Yessenia recently breathed new life into her approach to supporting and working with Denise. Through the Personal Outcome Measures (POM) workshop she attended at CFS, she gained a deeper and new understanding and insight that has enabled her to advocate more effectively for Denise.
We feel fortunate to have been able to provide a process and opportunity for both Yessenia and Denise to work together more effectively in a professional support relationship and to flourish, grow, and continue deepening their relationship. We are honored to witness how these two childhood friends and “sisters” continue to grow together with even more love and mutual respect.
