Today we’d like to introduce you to Delora Evans.
Delora, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hello, my name is Delora Evans, also known by my middle name, Kay. My family moved to Dallas when I was eight years old. I grew up in Oak Cliff. I love Oak Cliff and I am concerned about the mental health and well-being of its residents. That is why I started my Practice/Agency in Oak Cliff. Due to my personal struggles and my desire to overcome an addiction, I moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 2001. I was actually in a drug rehabilitation center with five months clean when I started college to become a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. I wanted to help people, primarily women, with children, overcome addiction. If I had written a list of expectations for my life back in 2001, at the beginning of this journey, I would have cheated myself.
Although I have obtained accolades and have pretty much, single handedly turned my entire life around. My greatest accomplishment is raising my two daughters, Faith (25) and Grace (15), Not only did I work hard at changing my mindset, I worked hard at learning to become a better parent. I was a teenage parent, having one son at the age of 17 and another son at the age of 19. I began using cocaine at the age of 20. As a young woman, I was ill equipped to deal with life’s issues and the information I received came from misinformed people. However, I am not a victim. Due to my addiction and choices, I made I was not a mother to my two son. This is a fact of life I continue to face daily. But I can show how to lay in a bed you made for yourself. I also have five Grandchildren, whom I love very much.
My journey has not been easy, but anything worth having is worth working and waiting for. I take each day as it comes. I do my best and treat people kind and fair. “Damn right I love the life I live, cause I went from negative to positive and its all good” (Biggie).
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a single parent, I faced issues with childcare and finances. I have not always been able to afford to live in the best places. I have driven cars that were barely moving along. I faced many obstacles alone and cried many nights. I face many of my successes alone, as well. I didn’t have many people who believed in me and it seems that some are STILL waiting on my demise. I have had people bring up my past and act as if I do not deserve to be happy, joyous and free. One of the reason’s my daughter Faith and I have such a strong bond is because she always believed in, supported and loved me as I have done with her. She was six years old when we moved to Ft. Worth. I like to say she is my A1 from day one! I have been passed upon jobs for promotions or advancement. As a black woman, I have faced discrimination and various other racially motivated injustices such as microaggressions on the job throughout my career. When I speak up for myself, I am labeled “combative and argumentative.” If I choose to remain silent and try to stay to myself, I am labeled “standoffish and unapproachable.” I have lived in a perpetual catch 22 damned if I don’t and damned if I do.
The Full Fruit Empowerment Center – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I graduated Magna Cum Laud with an Undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of North Texas (Denton) in 2008 and obtained the Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor credential in 2009. I obtained a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling in 2011 from Texas Wesleyan University and obtained the Licensed Professional Counselor credential in 2015. I began my career as a Counselor working in various social services agencies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, however, I am a human being first, a Therapist second.
I have faced and overcame many obstacles. This fact of life now enables me to motivate, inspire and empower clients to become more and more of their ideal self. I firmly believe that people are mostly multi-dimensional, needing help in all areas of their lives and can develop the skills needed to be productive through various means. Therefore I treat with a Person-Centered, holistic approach. I have extensive experience in disciplines such as Substance Use Disorders, Family Intervention with Substance Using Relatives, Women’s Issues and Grief, Loss and Bereavement, as well as all mental health issues. I am very interested in Trauma Informed Care approaches and the new advances in treating PTSD . I remain concerned in the various mental health issues our Veterans are plagued with. I am also a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) for the US Dept of Transportation. Counseling is my purpose and my passion. What I am most proud of is the fact that I have come full circle and am now able to help others come from the depths of despair that addiction brings. And that my practice is located in Oak Cliff. What sets me apart from others is that I am not ashamed of my past, I am very unassuming and strongly believe in ‘unconditional positive regard’.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is living in my full, authentic truth. Not ashamed of my past because I have used it to propel myself into this present reality. Success for me is also the mother I am now. I cannot gauge or define another person’s success but I can help them draw their own conclusions about what they deem successful for themselves.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Full Fruit Empowerment Center
4650 S. Hampton Rd #119
Dallas Texas 75232 - Website: TheFullFruitEmpowermentCenter.com
- Phone: 469-356-7966
- Email: thefullfruit@yahoo.com
- Instagram: thehoodgirlgonegood
- Facebook: Delora Evans
- Twitter: @DeloraFullFruit
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