We recently connected with Kimberly Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Kimberly, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

I believe Corporate American gets a few thing’s wrong, Starting with there should be more focus on getting kids in a safe environment, taking children away from parents when there is obvious signs of abuse or neglect and making each child who has grown up in the system is better prepared when they have aged out. Instead, money is more of a factor and kids are aged out with nothing and nowhere to turn. Plus they lack the knowledge of how to survive that should have been given while in foster care.

Kimberly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have worked in the health care field for about 22 years. My background consist of mainly working in the mental health field which included locked down facilities. I also have experience working with youth as well. While working for a company that housed youth while they are in the care of the state, one young man stated to me he didn’t know what he was going to do when he aged out because he didn’t have anywhere to go. I asked him if he had any money saved and did he know how to manage his bank account so he would be ready when he left. He stated he didn’t know anything about
managing his bank account and had
not been shown anything to assist
him. He was also told that his case worker could nolonger assist him because he aged out and was nolonger her client. That’s when The Jones House was born. I then created a program that teaches life skills such as money management, how to pay utilities etc. Our organization is different from others because we teach the very necessities that are needed for daily living. By providing these life skills, we can start to eliminate youth aging out of foster care, or being released from the detention center with out knowing how to survive. I am most proud of the fact that we have a solution that can and will change so many lives. This will also keep youth off the streets and give them hope for a brighter future because they will know how to take care of themselves the right way. I would like for it to be known that The Jones House plans on not only teaching life skills but also in the near future providing housing. This will also solve another issue of youth being homeless. This will also allow us to kill one bird with two stones, by providing a safe environment while teaching life skills needed for daily living.

Any advice for managing a team?

You definitely need a team that has the same vision that you do, and who wants to be apart of the journey you’re on. You can’t have individuals that literally only want to be around for the money. You all have to be on the same page, want to make change, and be up for the challenges your going to face. These challenges will help you grow as a team. You all have to be passionate in what you do, and passionate about really wanting to see change.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what helped build JH’s reputation is because we saw a problem and now we are providing a solution. Instead of complaining or sitting back and letting the problem continue, we brainstormed ways to solve it. We know it won’t happen over night but because it’s a nation wide problem we want to do everything we can to help solve or at at lease put a dent into the issues surrounding youth homelessness and lack of knowledge when it comes to life skills.