Today we’d like to introduce you to Yolanda Jones.
Yolanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, a graduate of F.D. Roosevelt High School. I currently serve as Vice President & COO of AIDS Services of Dallas. I provide leadership in the area of primary residential housing and support services to the HIV/AIDS community. As a community-builder and social advocate, I have dedicated my entire life to empowering individuals, families, and communities affected by HIV/AIDS to create and sustain healthy lives.
While not working with those affected by HIV/AIDS, one of my passions is freeing and advocating for youth impacted by sex trafficking. As a result, I serve as a volunteer and mentor for Traffick911, a Texas-based non-profit organization that exists to free American youth from sex trafficking through prevention, identification and empowerment.
A proud graduate of Texas Southern University, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Communications and a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Policy at the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. I am a lifetime member of the Texas Southern University National Alumni Association and immediate past President of the Dallas Alumni Chapter Additionally. I currently serve as the Chaplain for Collin County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Growing up in the projects surrounded by family Cedar Glen (CGP) allowed me the opportunity to get to know people for who they are and not what they have. I am a proud Alumni of the Oak Cliff Boys and Girls Club, where I went from ages 10-19 both as a member and employee. The Boys club showed me that the world was so much bigger than just my small section of the hood. All of my leadership skills I contribute to my Executive Director Lois Cross, made me try everything and never give up even when things got to hard.
I moved back to Dallas from Houston in 2014 after losing my mother to Cancer. She worked for over 25 years with the DISD as a bus monitor. That, of course, took the wind out of me. I lost the two most important people in my life. My Aunt my mother’s older sister, who I called Granny, passed a month before my mother did. It’s hard to identify struggles when I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.
Please tell us about AIDS Services of Dallas.
AIDS Services of Dallas provides housing and support services for low income and homeless individuals and families living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS. With an annual operating budget of more than $5.3 million, ASD operates its four apartment complexes, which are licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services to serve 225 men, women and children in 152 bedrooms within 125 privately configured apartments.
Housing equals health. I am proud of the entire staff and residents that work everyday for a better life for themselves and others. What sets us apart that there no other org like ASD in DFW. We are in a category all by ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aidsdallas.org
- Phone: 214-941-0523
- Email: yjones@aidsdallas.org
- Instagram: aidsdallas
- Facebook: AIDS Services of Dallas
Image Credit:
Jazzella Mckeel
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