We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sade Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sade thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

The defining moment in my career and life was when I sat in a bus station contemplating leaving Memphis for good. I had grew up here my whole life, graduated high school and although I knew I wanted to start college so that I can work on my biggest dream of being a doctor, I felt alone. I relied on everyone else to motivate me, support me, and care about what I wanted in my life. I was in an extremely dark place. That day at the bus terminal, God spoke to me and told me to stay, go to school, and he would handle the rest. I sat and balled my eyes out because it wasn’t what I wanted to do, however, when the connecting bus showed up, I never got on it. I was obedient and went back home. Although it took a while for things to get better, I eventually started to see why God has kept me here, it was for a bigger purpose. I have turned all the trauma, lack of support I experienced, and barriers that I had into a program for others who experience the same things. I always knew the plan, I never knew the journey would be so rocky but God wanted me to lean on him and know that he has me covered.

Sade, 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?

My name is Sade Smith and I am the founder and executive director of Casa-Global. CG is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide personalized solutions to youth and young adults ages 14-28. I created the plan for this organization at just 14 years old, at the time the idea came from personal experiences with lack of support, finances, and things I needed to succeed. As I progressed through life, I have taken note of the prevalence of those barriers in everyone else’s life and it has made me feel an urge to provide solutions. My goal is to provide solutions in every area of life and be a one stop shop. I didnt want to be the only one, I also wanted to connect with each organization in my city and motivate us all to work together to make a bigger change. I believe that we must do this without judgement to help release the stigma of seeking help in the first place. Over the years I have impacted so many families and individuals by doing this in my spare time. I have shown up for my community in more ways than one. Some of the things I have done is shown up to colleges to fill assist with FAFSA, attended ball games, help paid for hotels, fed the homeless, help with home searches, etc. I have also worked as a counselor, aided in crisis situations, and so much more. I aim to help those that need people in their corner, those that have been forgotten about, and those that don’t believe they can.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have so many stories about this, I am not sure which one to pick. I am a single mom who goes to school full time, works full time, does nonprofit work in my spare time, and still makes time for my children. I got pregnant with my daughter at the start of college, I would bring bags to class so for when I got sick . I eventually got so sick that I could not continue classes.Once I had my daughter, I transferred to the University of Memphis when she was just a baby. I would often take her to classes, or miss class to take her to the doctor. I always stayed on top of my work to the point where I was done with all class work within the first month of a 4 month class. I became pregnant with my son not even a couple of months after, i went through extreme pain with this pregnancy but I refused to give up. I went to class everyday dealing with sharp hip pain, joint pain, and lack of energy. I attended classes until I was 9 months and 2 weeks pregnant. Once he was born, I switched to online classes to care for both children. I would hold them both, feed them both, and do my homework at the same time. I would make sure they were sleep and then go to work from 4pm-12am and then attend my first class at 7am. This went on for the next 4 years until i finally graduated. I am now in my graduate program and my kids are able to care for themselves. I refused to give up and they have those characteristics in them when it comes to school work. Although I wanted to give up, I am stronger because of my tribulations.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The most important thing to remember in this field is, you can get all of the education you want. You have to be built for this. There is a lot of trauma that you will encounter in this field and you cannot let it affect your ability to be professional, present, and biased. Education is essential however in knowing the ethical part of the job and staying up to date on laws and things of that nature. Do self work, always pour into yourself so you have more to give to your clients. Never allow self care to be neglected, doing things like having a personal therapist, house keeper, child care, support systems, an assistant, and help on the backend is very important.

Contact Info:

• Website: WWW.CASA-GLOBAL.ORG
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.a.s.a_global
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasaGlobalorg/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/casa-global1
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CASA_GLOBAL1