Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer DaSilva. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I was doing very well in my career, but I had just lost my mom. I was five years sober and was looking to purchase my own home. I looked at several different houses in the DFW area. I was walking out the front door of the last house that I looked at and noticed something compelling. Keep in mind, I was getting frustrated and wanted to give up on the house hunt and had said out loud in my car “God, or mom, whoever, help me know what the right decision will be”. I noticed the house number 1111. And it was my sign. This is the house where you will be happy, this will be your new home. I closed on the house on my mom’s birthday at 11:11 am I signed the first document! So I was excited, I got moved in and then my son surprised me and come to see the house all the way from New Jersey. We were talking and he told me something interesting, he said “mom I just love my job, I love waking up every day to go to work!” I was so happy for him, and said a small prayer with the thought, hmm, must be nice to get that excited about going to work. Seven months later a job opening appealed to me, I thought, what the heck, I’ll apply, we’ll see…and I ended up accepting the new job, working in the recovery field, something I am very passionate about, and I can say the risk has been worth the rewards!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I have been the Executive Director for Simply Grace for about 2 years, previously I was the operations manager for about 1 1 1/2 years. I am also a woman in long term recovery, and I strive to help others to see that they too can be in recovery and have a successful life. Simply Grace exists to provide a safe, structured environment to assist women recovering from substance abuse, help to rebuild their lives and achieve long-term recovery. We have one “mommy and me” house to support women with children learn how to navigate parenting and recovery. We focus on putting the pieces back together. Spiritually – Our program’s foundation is based on the 12 Steps. Mentally -Gaining and retaining hope by developing an understanding of one’s abilities and acquiring a positive sense of self and social identity, Emotionally-In recovery, we start to feel feelings again. It’s important to have the tools to deal with our feelings and emotions. Physically-A healthy lifestyle is crucial for overall well-being as well as relieving stress, increasing self-esteem and reducing cravings. Through our Intensive Outpatient program, we specialize in working with chemically dependent adult women. Our mission is to improve their mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health through an integrated system of group and individual counseling services. We offer a wide range of services including 12-step facilitation, experiential therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, dialectical behavior therapy and group therapy. Our goal is to empower them to gain emotional and physical sobriety through development of healthy relationships, feeling and coping with emotions, reconnecting with themselves, their family, and their community, learning to write their own story for their future, developing techniques to be fully present and accepting of the moment, uncovering their true self so that they can become who they authentically are and want to be, developing tools to create a life worth living, and discovering new and better ways to cope with life’s problems. We are a nonprofit organization, and we also have Simply Grace Thrift Store to help everyone in the community. Visit our website for upcoming community events. https://
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
I believe connection with our community is how we succeed. To be able to share resources with our community and know who can help in what area is important. We do our best to connect with other professionals in our community to get to know each other, the services we offer, and the needs we have, so when someone needs a service that we don’t provide we know exactly where to guide someone. Also we love sharing our stories and opening up to our communities so we can be of service to those in need and be helpful any way we can. We have successfully held Recovery’s Got Talent for 5 years now, this year it will be held at The Eisemann Center in Richardson on April 7. 2023 at 6:30 pm. This community gathering helps support Simply Grace but gives these people in recovery a stage to show off their talents. This also presents an opportunity to help reduce the stigma of those living in recovery by showcasing these talented contestants. This is a talent show designed to increase positive self-esteem and social support for people in recovery. Recovery’s Got Talent inspires hope and community connection. Simply Grace also highlights local service providers and community partners to show that people do recover and the many options available for treatment. Prizes in the competition will go to the top three acts, as ranked by three community judges. You can get tickets to the show here: https://www.eisemanncenter.com/event/i/9119/d/recovery-s-got-talent?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR0CtAtXZAwP0s9YGs2u2xgU-jMAj8Tu-laewkwnZ4CkMlDUhtY2Ae_Ddsg
Any advice for managing a team?
I feel like managing a team takes someone who is willing to go above and beyond to build trust with their team members. Someone who has integrity and is willing to do the work and to teach the team. Leading with action, showing by example, and praising team members when they do a great job is important. Ensuring that the team can trust their leadership makes it feel safe for them to come to management with questions, feedback and suggestions. Promoting a work-life balance among employees is pivotal in maintaining morale and giving your team the break they need to refresh and renew their energy and passion for the workplace. I believe paying attention to the small things has a profound effect on the team members. Whether it’s swag, recognition or educational resources, small gestures can do big things for morale by showing employees that their leaders appreciate them. Creating a healthy and positive culture in the work place will lead to a happier team and a team that sticks together through the challenging times and celebrates the successful times together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://simplygracehouse.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplygracehouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyGraceHouse
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simply-grace/
Image Credits
Sara Head