She came as a program participant. She’s back as a Village leader!
A week like this one reminds me of three things:
Investing in survivors is long, slow work and so deeply worth it.
Your impact has generational ripple effects.
Watching survivors reach their goals? Straight fun.
Since late last summer, we've been searching for the right person to coordinate our programs and manage case work. Resumes. Interviews. We interviewed some really great people, but nothing seemed to fit just right.
Then Daphny applied and landed the job.
When Daphny first entered our ACCESS program, she was on probation and had lost custody of all four of her children who were placed in foster homes. She came to us carrying a lot. Through the care of Lovely Village and community support, she maintained sobriety, built life and job skills, secured stable housing, and landed full-time employment. We stood beside her in court and family mediation, advocating for reunification while she did the hard, quiet, daily work of becoming who she already knew she could be.
Today, Daphny has full custody of her children. She's been promoted at work. She serves as a parent liaison for CPS and holds a seat on the Governor's task force for the Texas Supreme Court Children's Commission…helping other parents navigate the same system she once had to survive. She's still sober. And her oldest has nearly completed his first year away at a four-year college!
Daphny is what sustainable success looks like at Lovely Village.
So, when Daphny expressed interest in our open position, we didn't hesitate. Her résumé? Check. First interview? Check. Follow-up interview? Home run. Her skillset, her lived experience, her dreams…they matched exactly what we needed.
This past Monday, we had the profound joy of welcoming Daphny back to Lovely Village, this time as our new Community Care Coordinator. She's not just qualified for this role. She's lived it. She knows what it feels like to be in the programs we're building. That's irreplaceable.
We took the team to lunch to celebrate. I sat there listening to everyone talk, watching the joy on Daphny's face, hearing the wisdom in her words, and I couldn't stop thinking about the first time I met her and how far she has come. The table was full, loud, and warm. It felt like exactly what we're supposed to be.
None of this happens without you.
Your giving and also your product purchases toward Lovely Village make it possible for us to offer Daphny not just a job, but a position on purpose. It’s a step toward a career that changes outcomes for herself and her children. That's the ripple effect.
In a world obsessed with division, Lovely Village is committed to standing for all that binds us and brings us together as a healing community. Your support is balm to those whose lives and families have been fragmented.
Will you join me in welcoming Daphny home?
Thank you for being a partner in this work and for making life change not just possible, but practical.
Love is a Village, and I'm so glad you're part of ours.
— Brett Mills, CEO