March 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Charmaine is the founder of My Possibilities, which serves who they call HIPsters (hugely important people), otherwise known as adults with disabilities, with a real college experience that they wouldn’t otherwise get. They started with 10 students and now have 675 students!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Everybody. It's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue now a part two of our conversation
with Charmaine Solomon. Right after these brief messages from our
generous sponsors, it was I think I read it was
(00:29):
you and two other moms, correct, and what are y'all
going to do?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, that's what we needed to do. We needed to
raise one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We had very
different skill sets. One woman was going to do the finances,
the other one was going to do the human resources.
Based on my therapeutic experience. I was going to do
all the intakes and all of the science that goes
behind that. So we had very clear roles about what
we were going to do, all involunteer capacities and of
(00:56):
course raise money. And then how do women raise money?
Bake sale, selling other people's trash out of their cars,
you know, that kind of stuff to raise two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, but.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I still don't at this point. You're getting a building
and you're getting a space, but this continuing education and
job placement thing, how was that going to work?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Well? That was what we That was our dream. So
the one mother and I, you know, when you first
think about what you're going to do, what do mothers do?
They call other mothers like, hey, what are you doing
with your child? And she was like, I don't know,
what are you doing with yours? Our children in the
same school, approximately the same age. And we met for
Starbucks at the coffee. If it had been late, it
would have been wine, but it was coffee because it
(01:42):
was in the morning, because we needed alcohol by this point. Anyway,
on the back, you know, I was so prepared for
this meeting. I didn't even have paper with me. And
on the back of the Starbucks napkin, we decided that
that's exactly what we were going to do. We wanted continuing education.
We wanted no babysitting. We wanted professionals who would come
and work with our individuals, and that, of course, we
(02:04):
had no money, and we wanted no babysitting. And on
that thing, we had three I put three circles. One
was the day program, the second one was the work center,
and the third one was residential. And this was in
two thousand and seven. It was just a first.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Round meeting residential, and all you have is a building.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
With why we're setting it up and not even at
that point we never even had that building. That was
in the very beginning. That was just the dream we had.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So did Larry tell you were crazy?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
He did? He was like, you're nuts, but I understand it.
I understand it.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
You were nuts, But I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm with you, and you know, I must say, you know,
like I said, Carlos, not Larry's sun, But my gosh,
that man has stood in those shoes and has done
a beautiful job to raise this young man as his own,
even though he's not his own, and to accept responsibility
for the challenges.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So maybe he's nuts, I think.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So maybe he got more than any bargain forms.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So you got this thing fixed up and you started
with ten students. Correct, tell me about that. What did
that look like?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight
we had to ride. We had to raise two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, which we achieved.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
And you did it through bake sales.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And car boots and popcorn sales and hard work. I
mean that's what we did. We made it a year.
It took us a year.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
That's a phenomenal that you raised to h fifty thousand
dollars in a year with bake sales and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
And all kinds of trash and all kinds of stuff.
We raised one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so we owed.
So in June two thousand and seven we designed the
whole thing. We opened in June two thousand and eight,
and Karl was the first young man that actually graduated
from high school that joined was one of the ten
at my possibilities, and so we were able to start
with ten students because we didn't and we were still
(04:01):
all volunteers. We had no money to hire anybody. And
we started in the summer with a summer program with
this continuing education idea. And then what was the education,
just basic stuff, functional math, reading, We had a book club.
We had Health and Wellness. We wanted health and wellness
all you know, from the very beginning exercise, and we
(04:24):
had a lot of functional things like how to take
care of yourself. We even had a little apartment in
the back so you could learn how to make a
bed and how to vacuum, and you could do all
of those things. So we had some of the continuing
education and we had some of the sort of job
training skills and well that's also life skills, yes exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Okay, so yes, when did this curriculum that I have
in my hands develop?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And when we went to the So we started working
on it right from the very beginning, but only when
we went to our second building, second location did we
actually go.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Into leave that location. We had to keep it.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
No, we had to we had to leave it, outgrow
it without grow it.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
About the year three, how many.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Exactly we were I mean, we just we couldn't do anymore.
We wereacity. I think we had about three hundred and
fifty people in that building, Holy Christ, within a year.
And that's why I said, we've always had a waitlist.
So within the first year we were three hundred and
fifty and I think we were only we had four
hundred was max in that building. So we had that
(05:30):
building for four years and then we bought another derelict building.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
If nothing else speaks to the need and the beauty
of what you're doing. You went in one year from
ten to three hundred forty how many three hundred ten
to three hundred in a year in a line that
means parents and people were bagging and we couldn't.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah, and we couldn't. We couldn't do the need because
we couldn't surpry it. There was just too much need
and that continues. It was just talking earlier to Alex
when I said, this year is the first time that
we have not had a waitlist. We've had a waitlist
ever since we began. And the reason being is that
people wanted more for their adults. They wanted the continuing education,
(06:14):
they had something to compare with, they wanted something they
could see that something was different with what we were doing.
These adults were cognitively engaged, they were being trained, they
were being given an opportunity to do meaningful things as
opposed to just watching Barney or something on the television.
People came in droves to come and be.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
With us, cause twenty three year olds loved sitting around.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Watching Barnie exactly, and not just Barney, I mean just
sitting around all day doing nothing. And so we were
able to do that. Dr Pepper gave us our first
bus so that we could take them out into the community.
We could go do yes, yes, Yes, and Larry Young,
who was the CEO of Doctor Pepper at the time,
was an amazing human being. We were at a Boler
(06:58):
conference and he was sitting opposite me on the bar
and I was talking to him about the concept of
my possibilities and you know the challenges with Carl any
new Carl, and he just said to Michamn, you get
that building, the people will come. And I was like, gosh,
And I had to remind him just recently. I was like,
we've had that problem since the very beginning. We've had
(07:18):
buildings and the people come all the time, but we're
not able to serve them. And so he was He
helped me with that inspiration that we could do this
right because I mean, we were parents. I was a mother,
I was working in a different field, and I was like, wow,
can we do this?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We could. But it was hard. It was hard. There
were times where we didn't know where the next check
was coming from. I mean, it was hard to keep
the Opening the doors was one thing, but then keeping
the doors open was another story. Because it's a continual fundraising.
It's a continual cycle that you have to do. It's
not just the one and done. And I think that's
what people don't think about when you start a business.
(07:54):
It's not just the opening of the doors. And now
we've given these adults hope, right, and we've given them
something beautiful, we give them something different. We can't say
sorry and close the doors tomorrow, which is just no
option for that.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So from the meager beginnings in this building that you did, bake,
sales and race two hundred and fifty thousand and people
coming into, paint and do everything, and you're ten people
two in one year three hundred. Your campus is now fifty.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Acres twenty twenty eight acres, yes, twenty acres, and it's beautiful.
It looks like a university campus. It's not. It doesn't
have wires hanging down. It's a place of dignity, and
you know what we wanted, and it's very centrally located.
What we wanted with the campus is when you drive
up and you look at that space, immediately you have
(08:47):
respect because that is a place that you would imagine
that other college students are going to. And immediately the
elevation and expectation is set. We're in your neighborhood. We
want a place of dignity, and we wanted a place
of respect.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
You do vocational training in retail, culinary arts, facilities, administrative,
sport and hospitality.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Tell me, I mean, are these people who are destined
for a really ugly nineteen seventies recliner in front of
a TV at twenty three years old? Are they actually employed?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yes, that's what we do. We train them and then
we have a job placement team and not just like
we're not talking about charity jobs anymore, we're talking about
dignified work. For example, we have a JP Chase Morgan.
Jpchase have hired twenty of our adults in their back
office banking system and these are properly paid, they have benefits.
(09:50):
They are amazing, and they have the day all kinds
of data entry, collation of documents just depending on what
it is, keeping Audrey tidied, and organized, organizing meetings, doing
all the prep work for a meeting. So if you're
having a meeting, you've got everything set out for you.
It's just they're amazing. Bank of America does the same thing.
(10:12):
JP Chase Morgan does the same thing. Toyota. We have
very big companies that employ our guys and properly employ them.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
The other thing is this charity job. I'll never forget
this young man. He's working at La Made Lanes and
he's rolling silverware. And he's a very high functioning adult.
And he's musical. He can play the drums, he can
play the guitar. He's got a beautiful singing voice. And
they tell me he's got a bad attitude. I think
I would have a bad attitude if I'm given rolling silverware.
But I'm capable get him a job in a music store.
(10:41):
Go get him something where he would be stimulated. But
that idea that these guys have cognitive abilities, they have
once needs and desires just like you and I do,
and we would match that up for a job. That
is just a unique thing.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And that's part of your intake exactly. You find out
what they what they're disabilities are, what their function level are, but.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Also what they're interesting exactly, and then that's how we
find them jobs, you know, Shaka, That's how we all
find jobs. I mean, you find a commonality of interest
and then you go work, you go and explore that. Right,
that's how we do it. Why would it be any
different for our intellectual disabilities. And this campus on the
new campus, when we move there, these adults could sign
(11:23):
up for their classes the first time that we have
a career portfolio of classes and probably about eighty to
eighty five every fourteen weeks different content which we write,
by the way, and they can sign up for these
classes and they can choose their subjects. I mean that's
another thing, right, that independence of choice. When you go
to college, you can choose your subjects. Not at my possibilities.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I'm holding the Master of Courses. Okay, I can't read it.
I really wish I could read it all, but I'm
just going to pick a couple. You know, you've got
leadership one oh one, which is completely the antithesis of
what you would think about teaching folks with disabilities. But
(12:10):
you've got basics of tech, healthy choices, cooking, community, independence, adaptive,
You've got costuming. You've got martial arts, music, yoga, performance, dance, cheerleading,
vocational foundations, individual discoveries. This thing is what is the
(12:34):
seventy five or eighty different classes.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Exactly per every fourteen weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
You've got a happy class exploring the true meaning of
being happy, Sports talk, Men's Hour, girl Power, Spanish cleaning,
clue outdoor skills, baking, one oh one, Bible study. It
goes on and on, and the very thought of people,
(13:09):
special needs folks going to a secondary education with a curriculum,
choosing their classes, learning them, matching their interest with their abilities,
and finding vocational training so that they get a real
job with real pay and real benefits. There are people
that would say you can't do that.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
We can, we can, and we do it with Brian.
And I'll tell you when you walk out building and
you see these adults going about their business and you
see them, how they care for each other, how they
are learning, and how excited they are to come to
my possibilities, you will understand that it's a magical place
to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
We'll be right back. Tell me what a hipster is.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
So you know, not the traditional no no, no, no, no,
not that one. So you know, our industry are so
called we call our they call them clients, or they
call them patients, or they call it. And we were like, okay,
now stop that these are not patients and they're not clients.
These are human beings. Let's think of something that could
be much more warming and engaging. And so we started
with VIPN. We're like, okay, that doesn't work, and then
(14:30):
hipster came on hugely important person because that's what they are,
and that's why we do whatever we do at my Possibilities.
And our hipsters love it. They are They wear their
T shirts loud and proud that they are hipsters, and
they will tell you that they're hipsters. We have hipsters
on the board. Part of that leadership class is that
you can be a board member. We've got a board member.
We've got they come to the board and they report
(14:51):
about the programs downstairs. They come and report to the
board about things that they want changed. So we encourage
all of that at every level of our kind.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Section five pillars of education for these hipsters my place
in the world. Social skills and communication development, aspiring for independence,
community at home, transportation, money management, safety awareness, self advocate.
That's interesting. Responsibility, vocability. What's that word vocabilities?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I think it's vocabilities vocal.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
But thank you vocabilities said by true properly trained South Africa.
By the way, your English is so much.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Better to mine, and it's sounds so much better.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I'd love to hear you talk employment opportunities, teamwork, sound body,
sound mind, sound body, personal care, healthy lifestyles, fitness and
inspiring something to be visual arts, pathway, culinary or its
performance based classes, communications, social. You are educating these folks
(15:59):
and not only job skills, but life skills or self
care correct things that people would say folks like these
can't achieve.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Oh my gosh, that is so wrong, such a wrong
philosophy or thought. Again, it's an old fashioned way of
thinking about people with an intellectual disability. These guys are
super capable of Our job is they've never been exposed
to these things, so they don't even know what they're
good at. Our job is to expose them to as
many opportunities as possible.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Now that's really interesting. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but
that what you just said to me is profound. This
is going to go up on our what's it called
alex are what's our thing? Quotes from army people or
normal folks wisdom? Normal folks wisdom. Please say what you
just said again, I've forgotten what I say. You said
(16:56):
that because they've never been exposed, they don't even know
what they've been going to add, which speaks to the
fact that coming up through the system, their key hold
as disabled and therefore aren't even allowed to explore on
how to yes, achieves. But you said, say it again,
you said.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I said, they don't even know what they're good at
or what they like because they have never been exposed
to it, whether that was at school or whatever that
looks like. And so they don't know what they're good at.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
They haven't even been given opportunity.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They haven't. I'll give you an example. We have a
very talented artist. Her name is Abby. Abby is phenomenal artists.
In fact, her work was on display. Well, Abby is
on the spectrum. She has autism. She is verbal but
only a little bit, and she is social but very
(17:48):
very basic. Right, so if you meet Abby, you would
never connect Abby to artwork. So Abby's a talented artist.
She comes to visit my possibilities or comes in the summer.
While we were in the beginning before she came to
join us, and we had an art teacher that exposed
Abby to art. Abby's art is fantastic. We go back
to the school and say, this girl is talented, please
(18:12):
put her in art classes. She's got the potential. They
could never put her in the art class. Abby's work
was on display. Just recently in Japan, she won an
award for the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Four paintings that
she did, the most beautiful detailed paintings. She's an amazing artist,
but she was never given that exposure. She only learned
(18:34):
that at My Possibilities and through private coaching from our staff.
She's learned how to do this. But that goes for everything.
There's a young woman that is an incredible baker at
My Possibilities. We call her the cookie Queen. She never
baked in her life. She didn't know how to measure anything.
We talked her that they don't know because it's like
a vacuum. They've never been exposed to these things. And
(18:56):
the more we expose them to different things, were like,
they are talented in this, they need to go do this.
This is a career for them. Let's explore that to
be able to do that. So we do a lot
of that to say what is it that they give
to add? What are they talented ad and let's explore
that that could become a job. Let's let's give them
more of those classes. It's amazing we you know, we
(19:17):
have this whole therapeutic team behind them as well that
helps with communication and behaviors to get that all under control.
And then you said, we've in our boardroom we have
a hipster's version of the Mona Lisa. And that was
my first experiences version of Lisa.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
It's a painting? And she did the Mona Lisa in
her version of it. It is the most beautiful painting.
But that was my first experience to say, Wow, these
kids are talented, tiny little Asian goal very behaviorally challenged
until you put a paintressallenge Yes, why just she she's
(19:56):
hardly she can hardly communicate until you put a paintbrush
in her hand. Unbelievable. She created this. This is her
first time that she'd ever learned to paint, and she
created this Mona Lisa painting. It is the most beautiful thing.
And we actually have it up in our conference room
because that is a reminder of all the untapped potential
that these adults have and it's our job to find it.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
And had it not been for my possibilities, ironically, she
may never have Nobody would have even known the possibilities
of her talent.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
No, because what we did is we had an exhibition
where we had these artists come and we had the
parents come in and her mother came to me because
she had her name Gina had written her name at
the bottom of the painting, and her mom came to
me and said, that is that Gino. And I was like, yeah,
your Gina, and she goes, my Gina, Well, she needs
art classes. I'm like, she's thirty five. You should have
(20:46):
given a five art lessons when she was five, right,
But to start out the gates and be able to
paint something like a mona Lisa, I couldn't do that.
There's no way I could do that. But that's what
I'm saying. All this latent talent is there. It's our
job to find it and nurture it and grow it
and see what they can do.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
That's phenomenal. So many I don't know what Ben can do, yes.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
And what they would do if they were exposed to
this when they were young, like five, right. Most of
us get exposed to good things. I mean, I watched
your documentary and I was just thinking about, Gosh, when
we're young and we're exposed to things, it advances us
so much, right, because we're exposed to something and you
can see at a young age perhaps that someone's talented,
(21:30):
and then what do you do you steer them in
that direction, right, But when you're thirty five and you're like, wow, okay,
you haven't quite missed the boat by gee, those formative years.
What would it have been like if it was earlier?
Speaker 1 (21:45):
So how many people on this campus now?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Six hundred and seventy five as yes, my gosh, six
hundred and seventy five staff over one hundred.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
How do you pay for this?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We have to fundraise, and we have to fundraise, and
we have to do events, and we have wonderful relationships
with donors and foundations, and that's how we have to
do it.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
That are you pinching yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You know? Sometimes I walk that campus and I think
to myself, Wow, I had an idea, but not like this.
It's way beyond my thinking. I mean, we had thought
about a campus, but not like this where so many
adults come and they just love being there. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Larry still think you're nuts this quote. Without my possibilities,
our family would not have been able to find a
way to give each other, each of our children an
opportunity to grow. Patricia M I want to go back
to that one in a minute second. Coming to my
(22:59):
possible abilities is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Enjoy coming here so much because I can come and
warm something. James us. It's really important that our listeners
understand that this is life changing, not only for the
folks who are in the program, but the families. So
(23:23):
much loss and despair and anxiety over what to do
is replaced with.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Hope, yes, and growth and opportunities right because this is
a world where there are no growth and opportunities. And
so our parents that's why our parents love what we
do with My Possibilities and why you know, when we
were looking at when we are looking at residential options,
they're like, whatever you do, we don't want to leave
the campus. We need to be close to the campus.
(23:48):
We need our adults to live and come to the
campus because that hole. My Possibilities program is done. And
the trust that they know that their adults are taken
they are safe, they're well taken care of, and they chance.
That trust that those parents have with us is amazing.
But it's a blessing and a curse because it's a
big delivery. It's a big responsibility to do that all
(24:09):
the time. Is to make sure that these adults are safe.
They are challenged every day and our parents just love that.
And I love that. I mean the other day, Carl's
caseworker came to the house and wanted to see him
at home before he went to My Possibility. Her name
was Jennifer Goures. Hi, Jennifer, I'm late. He wanted to
go back to My Possibilities. You're in my way, little, yeah,
(24:31):
I'm late. He doesn't want to miss anything, right. He's
home with us for a week and then he wants
to go back because he's had enough of us. He
wants to be with his friends. He wants to you know,
when I pick him up, he's got a big smile
on his face. But that's what happens in that building.
And if you walk in that building, people say, Hi,
how are you. I love it here, I love my math,
I love this. Welcome, come and see our place. They're
(24:52):
so proud of their place, right because it's their place,
and they're so proud of that.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We'll be right back. If you ever start a football team,
let me know welcome.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I'll take you up on that. I think they know.
They call it.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
I told a show.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
They call it Sharmain's Web. You have to be very
careful what you promise.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So you alluded to it, but I won't let you
just kind of go with it. You don't. You don't
strike me as a person that grass grows readily under
their feet. What's next?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Residential? You know my safe on campus just off the
campus so close by. Unfortunately we're not zoned where we
off on the campus for residential. We do have plans
for dormitories on there where you can learn how to
live individually, because that's another thing we talked about it earlier.
My son doesn't have an experience of sleeping out at
a friend's house. He has no experience of that. He
(26:00):
all he knows is sleeping in his own room with
his mom and dad. Right, He just has no experience
about sleeping out or what it feels like to live independently.
And also, because he's lived with me so long, I
probably have developed the most bad habits with helping him
where he's more capable of doing that. So that training
where they'll learn how to live independently will be on
the campus.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Wow, that's interesting is as they learn, parents have to
be able to get.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Out of the way and let him go. Yes, Mom's
going to need therapy. When he moves into residential, are
you going.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
To do it in a mirror because you're a therapist?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Exactly?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I think So okay, So residential, what's that going to
look like?
Speaker 2 (26:37):
So we originally had one hundred.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Residential is rot with opportunities for pitfalls and.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Issues, yes, yes, and abuse, yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Scary If somebody is being loud and obnoxious and you've
had it, just beat him and them back in the bird.
Or if you're a predator, that is a that is
that is easy fishing grounds exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
And that's why my son still lives at home with me.
The current group home model, that's not going to happen.
I don't trust it. It's so he said. She said, I've.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Seen what you're about to start that.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yes, but differently that's what I want to do. So
we're going to do it a little differently because it'll
be our staff. Our staff will be trained, it'll be different,
we'll have much more eyes on and also what we're
planning to do, we had a one hundred and eighty
acres of a golf course that we were going to
build a residential community. What we had one hundred and
eighty acres an old golf club, but unfortunately, due to
(27:42):
the costs post COVID, there's no way we can build
that community.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Somebody gave you a golf club.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yes, this gentler one of our donors, Yes, one of these,
one of our fantastic donors, bought this property for us.
But unfortunately, with the costs rising post COVID and being
a golf course, trying to even out the property for
our population, it didn't work. The math didn't work. The
houses would be too expensive for our families to explore.
(28:10):
So we've moved closer. Now there's a mall that is
being redeveloped in our neighborhood and it's got housing on
it and it's five minutes away from the My Possibilities campus.
We are aiming to buy six four bedroom units in
that block and start a pilot there, and then there
are some apartments that are at the back, so for
(28:31):
those individuals who are able to live independently in an
apartment that need oversight and supervision, we can provide that
and then this pilot program in the homes, and so
that's what we're working on currently. It's around and it'll
be different. It's in the most beautiful buildings, four bedrooms.
Each person has their own bathroom and bedroom, and they'll
be able to stay there with supervision, and it'll be
(28:53):
our staff, our train staff, and the beauty of being
six together. It's not one isolated with one staff member.
It is a community of people where there will be
lots of eyes on these adults, So there'll be not
just one person's version. There'll be lots of people around,
and so it'll be safer for us. And so how
will eventually go there when they are ready, It's going
(29:16):
to be It's going to take a lot for me
to let him go, but I want him to go
while I can still be around to help him with
that transition. While I can still help him. He can
come home for weekends and he can do what he
needs to do while I'm alive. I don't want him
to go to a facility if something happens to me
and I'm not around. I want him to be there.
(29:37):
I want him to help. I want to help him
make that transition.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And the beautiful part about that is you happen to
run a school that can teach him the tools.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
On how to on how to live, and he's already
got a big part of his life during the day
on the campus, so they'll see him on the campus,
he'll go home. So we've got a lot more eyes
on these adults to make sure that they're well fed,
they're well treated. We'll be able to see all of
that kind of stuff as opposed to an isolated little
(30:07):
group home somewhere.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
I got to ask you, what is the budget, annual
budget for this thing.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Well, that's the thing that we're working on right now.
We have to raise four million dollars in order to
be able to put the down payments on these homes,
and that's what we're working on annually.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
No, what's the annual budget for the whole shooting match?
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Are you talking about? My possibilities are? Where are ten
million a year?
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Does anybody pay for any of these classes?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Some of them pay, so for example, if they have
a Medicaid waiver program, they use that money, but it's tiny.
It's like anywhere between nineteen and twenty four dollars a day.
We'll take that, and then if you have private pay options,
we will charge you. But everybody in that building we
raise money for. There's a big difference between the fee
(30:56):
that is paid and what it cost us to run that.
That's where our fundraising gap comes from. Our fundraising team
this year raised four point two million dollars just for operating,
just to close that gap. And the more people we have,
the bigger that number gets.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That Is that a point of stress for you? Oh?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
All the time. Yes, it is a point of stress because,
like I said, we've created nirvana and Nirvana has to
continue and to build that making sure that that legacy
never goes away. These adults count on us every day.
This is their life. I can go get another job, right,
I can move somewhere else, but this is their lives
(31:39):
and that puts a lot of pressure on us to
make sure that those doors are open and functioning every
day and well functioning.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
On the one hand, I hear that number and it's astounding.
On the other hand, in and around Dallas, there are
people to whom four million dollars is jump change. So
it is there, it's there, but.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
It's not necessary there for our population. It's people are
very philanthropic in Dallas, right, they're very philanthropically minded, but
typically it's for children, it's cancer, it's all of those things.
But these are adults and not as much we really
there are lots of places that turn us down because
(32:20):
it's not the population that they serve, all the population
that they care. And so yes, we've got lots of
philanthropic dollars, but it doesn't all come to people with
intellectual disabilities.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I bet if you can ever get somebody on campus
to look and see and touch and feel that they
fall in love.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
They do. And we do that all the time. We've
set up to us all the time because we know
that somewhere someone is going to engage you on that
campus and they can touch your heart.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Sure. Mean, you're a mom with a kid that was
aging out a system and had no idea what to do,
and here you are some fifteen years later with seven
hundred people on a two twenty acre campus with a
four or five million dollar budget.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
You are nuts, my husband thinks.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So. I mean the other two moms, these three moms
that started this, or are they still with you?
Speaker 2 (33:21):
No? Unfortunately in the beginning the two dropped out very quickly.
But yes, and also I was very much the third
mother that came in to do the intakes because I
had another you know, I was working and earning my income,
so I was very much a third mother and then
ended up running it for years to be able to
do that. But I must tell you that there is
(33:42):
an incredible bunch of team and at my possibilities, the staff,
the fundraising people are all very passionate about what do
we do and they work so hard to be able
to do that. So this is a village, right, So
I mean having an idea and then executing on an idea,
it doesn't help if you don't have a village of
(34:03):
people who care and want to do that.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
When you step back and take stock of all of this,
well burst through your head.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
You know. I just look at this. I'm like, oh gosh,
how did we do this and how did it get
this momentum and whatever? And I think to myself, Wow,
these guys have a purpose and they have a passion.
And every time I go there, they just want to
hug on you and just love on you. And I'll
tell you just think yourself, Wow, I'm so blessed by
the idea that I can see that these guys are growing.
(34:37):
And you know, it might be for my son, but
it's really for our people. I mean, they deserve that, right,
They deserve a chance. They deserve something different, and we've
become We've set the trend. We can't go back. Now.
Everybody wants to do better, and sometimes they copy what
we do and be like, Okay, that's fine because if
they copy what we do, they're making it better for
(35:00):
whatever their adults are. So we don't mind. We'll share
that with you. We'll share whatever you want to come
and see and do because we wanted better for other people.
Because if we don't do it, who's going to do it? Right,
If we don't do it, who's going to do it?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Tell me one more story, okay, one more uplifting story
of a hipster that showed up to you in your
own words, not even knowing what they could do or
what their interests were, or having never been exposed to it,
that is now doing something that we would be like, wow.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I'll use Aaron as an example. We used to call
him the Chief. He became the Chief. Yeah, he was
always bossy. He's bossing everybody around. So Erin had been
with us for a couple of years and really, I
think his father died and it's just his mom, and
he was really just full of nonsense. Behaviorally, he was
just you know, chief, bossing around, don't tell me what
(35:55):
to do. And eventually Aaron kind of got with the program.
We got him behavioral support, and Eron got a job,
and he got a job at Jbchase Morgan and he
came for a day of impact with his team. He
brought his team to come and work and do a
service project at my Possibilities and he was leading that
(36:18):
service project with his work team, and he was so proud.
He came in and he was introducing his work team
to me and to his teachers and to whatever. But
he was now an employee of this company, and he
was so proud of what he'd done at My Possibility
and now he was coming to share that with his team.
That was an amazing I mean, just to see this
(36:39):
kid go from behaviorally challenged to settling down doing the
work that he needed to do to learn how to
do this. We placed him in this job and then
he brings his whole team around and they loved him.
They called him the chief too, so he was still
the chief. He was still the Chief, and he was
so but he was so proud of himself. You could
(37:00):
if his little shirt in his heart could have, you know,
burst open it could have because he were so proud
to come and show them where he'd come from and
how hard he'd worked, and that he look what he
was doing now with his team. It was amazing and
they were fantastic with him too.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
When I sit here and compare that story against the
balance of the likelihood that without my possibilities, the chief
would be sitting in front of a TV.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Somewhere yes medicated, Yes, and he.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Would, especially if his behavioral challenge medica medicated.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
And also where would his team be. He wouldn't have
a team of typically developed people that are working alongside
him and encouraging him at work. He wouldn't have a team.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Are you allowing yourself to understand that you probably saved
us life?
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I don't think about it that way, I think, but
it is. I think we see those stories all the time.
We're just so blessed to be able to witness that
that you see something like that. You know, most of
us we touch someone's life, but you don't see what
you do in that person's life. We get to see it,
and that is such a blessing to see how we
parents one story of many at my possibilities that we
(38:05):
see we touch it, we see it, we feel the
letters that we get from our parents about how these
kids are doing at home. It's such a blessing to
see that.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
I'm still having a hard time getting over one hundred
acre undern eighty acre golf course thing. I'd certainly get
the build out would be just an extraordinary amount of money.
Love that you're doing the off campus housing thing. But
I gotta ask, I mean, why can't this happen in
(38:38):
other parts of the country and be exported And is
there any plans or thoughts of that or has anybody
reached out to you.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Oh, we see a lot of people from different states
that come to us and want to my possibilities in
their neighborhood. Unfortunately, we haven't addressed the need in our
own local community. But we are willing to share what
we do. What we do isn't a secret, and we
want to share that because it will improve the lives
of everybody else. But you know, I think one of
the reasons that doesn't exist. It's a lot of hard work,
(39:06):
and you have to have a community of people that
will support you. And you've got to have a band
of people who are willing to work together to do
it and really get that momentum to be able to
do it. Because that's what we did. We rode this
sort of crest of the wave engaging the community. And
not every community is as supportive as our community is,
(39:28):
and I think that makes that's what makes it different.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
But it's out there. Yes, you will teach them, you
will show them, you will lay out the groundwork, You'll
give them all of your experiences.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
They can come spend a day with us, see what
we do, learn what we do. We open our doors
all the time. We don't, you know, we want everybody
to do what we do. We want it to be better.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
The possibilities right, that's.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Right, yes, And that's where the name came from. You know,
when we were looking at names, we were like, my possibilities.
My son needs to have possibilities, And that's how we
came up with the name of My Possibilities.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
I love it if somebody wants to look up My
Possibilities or reach out to you because maybe they say
this needs to happen in Topeka. Where do they go?
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Easy Charmain at m p t X dot org. My
Possibilities Texas dot org. M p t X c H A.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
R M A I N E at M P t
X dot org. That's it, and I guess My Possibilities
has a website.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Oh yes, what is that? Just my Possibilities dot org.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
I love it. You're phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Thank you. It's hey. I'm a mom first, and I
will tell you that my son is brave, and he's
an amazing young man and he deserves nothing but the best.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Charmaine, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Thank you, thank you for having me here today.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
It's been my distinct closure.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
And thank you for joining us this week. If Charmaine
Solomon has inspired you in general, or better yet, to
take action by donating to My Possibilities, sharing it with
adults with disabilities who could be interested in going there,
starting something like it in your community, or something else entirely,
(41:29):
please let me know. I'd love to hear about it.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us, and I promise you I will respond. If
you enjoyed this episode, guys, share it with friends on social,
subscribe to the podcast, rate it, review it, join the
(41:49):
army at Normalfolks dot us. Consider becoming a Premium member there,
any and all of these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Fortney. Until
next time, do what you can
Everybody. It's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue now a part two of our conversation
with Charmaine Solomon. Right after these brief messages from our
generous sponsors, it was I think I read it was
(00:29):
you and two other moms, correct, and what are y'all
going to do?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, that's what we needed to do. We needed to
raise one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We had very
different skill sets. One woman was going to do the finances,
the other one was going to do the human resources.
Based on my therapeutic experience. I was going to do
all the intakes and all of the science that goes
behind that. So we had very clear roles about what
we were going to do, all involunteer capacities and of
(00:56):
course raise money. And then how do women raise money?
Bake sale, selling other people's trash out of their cars,
you know, that kind of stuff to raise two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, but.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I still don't at this point. You're getting a building
and you're getting a space, but this continuing education and
job placement thing, how was that going to work?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Well? That was what we That was our dream. So
the one mother and I, you know, when you first
think about what you're going to do, what do mothers do?
They call other mothers like, hey, what are you doing
with your child? And she was like, I don't know,
what are you doing with yours? Our children in the
same school, approximately the same age. And we met for
Starbucks at the coffee. If it had been late, it
would have been wine, but it was coffee because it
(01:42):
was in the morning, because we needed alcohol by this point. Anyway,
on the back, you know, I was so prepared for
this meeting. I didn't even have paper with me. And
on the back of the Starbucks napkin, we decided that
that's exactly what we were going to do. We wanted continuing education.
We wanted no babysitting. We wanted professionals who would come
and work with our individuals, and that, of course, we
(02:04):
had no money, and we wanted no babysitting. And on
that thing, we had three I put three circles. One
was the day program, the second one was the work center,
and the third one was residential. And this was in
two thousand and seven. It was just a first.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Round meeting residential, and all you have is a building.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
With why we're setting it up and not even at
that point we never even had that building. That was
in the very beginning. That was just the dream we had.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So did Larry tell you were crazy?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
He did? He was like, you're nuts, but I understand it.
I understand it.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
You were nuts, But I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I'm with you, and you know, I must say, you know,
like I said, Carlos, not Larry's sun, But my gosh,
that man has stood in those shoes and has done
a beautiful job to raise this young man as his own,
even though he's not his own, and to accept responsibility
for the challenges.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So maybe he's nuts, I think.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So maybe he got more than any bargain forms.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So you got this thing fixed up and you started
with ten students. Correct, tell me about that. What did
that look like?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight
we had to ride. We had to raise two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, which we achieved.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
And you did it through bake sales.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And car boots and popcorn sales and hard work. I
mean that's what we did. We made it a year.
It took us a year.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
That's a phenomenal that you raised to h fifty thousand
dollars in a year with bake sales and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
And all kinds of trash and all kinds of stuff.
We raised one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so we owed.
So in June two thousand and seven we designed the
whole thing. We opened in June two thousand and eight,
and Karl was the first young man that actually graduated
from high school that joined was one of the ten
at my possibilities, and so we were able to start
with ten students because we didn't and we were still
(04:01):
all volunteers. We had no money to hire anybody. And
we started in the summer with a summer program with
this continuing education idea. And then what was the education,
just basic stuff, functional math, reading, We had a book club.
We had Health and Wellness. We wanted health and wellness
all you know, from the very beginning exercise, and we
(04:24):
had a lot of functional things like how to take
care of yourself. We even had a little apartment in
the back so you could learn how to make a
bed and how to vacuum, and you could do all
of those things. So we had some of the continuing
education and we had some of the sort of job
training skills and well that's also life skills, yes exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Okay, so yes, when did this curriculum that I have
in my hands develop?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And when we went to the So we started working
on it right from the very beginning, but only when
we went to our second building, second location did we
actually go.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Into leave that location. We had to keep it.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
No, we had to we had to leave it, outgrow
it without grow it.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
About the year three, how many.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Exactly we were I mean, we just we couldn't do anymore.
We wereacity. I think we had about three hundred and
fifty people in that building, Holy Christ, within a year.
And that's why I said, we've always had a waitlist.
So within the first year we were three hundred and
fifty and I think we were only we had four
hundred was max in that building. So we had that
(05:30):
building for four years and then we bought another derelict building.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
If nothing else speaks to the need and the beauty
of what you're doing. You went in one year from
ten to three hundred forty how many three hundred ten
to three hundred in a year in a line that
means parents and people were bagging and we couldn't.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah, and we couldn't. We couldn't do the need because
we couldn't surpry it. There was just too much need
and that continues. It was just talking earlier to Alex
when I said, this year is the first time that
we have not had a waitlist. We've had a waitlist
ever since we began. And the reason being is that
people wanted more for their adults. They wanted the continuing education,
(06:14):
they had something to compare with, they wanted something they
could see that something was different with what we were doing.
These adults were cognitively engaged, they were being trained, they
were being given an opportunity to do meaningful things as
opposed to just watching Barney or something on the television.
People came in droves to come and be.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
With us, cause twenty three year olds loved sitting around.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Watching Barnie exactly, and not just Barney, I mean just
sitting around all day doing nothing. And so we were
able to do that. Dr Pepper gave us our first
bus so that we could take them out into the community.
We could go do yes, yes, Yes, and Larry Young,
who was the CEO of Doctor Pepper at the time,
was an amazing human being. We were at a Boler
(06:58):
conference and he was sitting opposite me on the bar
and I was talking to him about the concept of
my possibilities and you know the challenges with Carl any
new Carl, and he just said to Michamn, you get
that building, the people will come. And I was like, gosh,
And I had to remind him just recently. I was like,
we've had that problem since the very beginning. We've had
(07:18):
buildings and the people come all the time, but we're
not able to serve them. And so he was He
helped me with that inspiration that we could do this
right because I mean, we were parents. I was a mother,
I was working in a different field, and I was like, wow,
can we do this?
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
We could. But it was hard. It was hard. There
were times where we didn't know where the next check
was coming from. I mean, it was hard to keep
the Opening the doors was one thing, but then keeping
the doors open was another story. Because it's a continual fundraising.
It's a continual cycle that you have to do. It's
not just the one and done. And I think that's
what people don't think about when you start a business.
(07:54):
It's not just the opening of the doors. And now
we've given these adults hope, right, and we've given them
something beautiful, we give them something different. We can't say
sorry and close the doors tomorrow, which is just no
option for that.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So from the meager beginnings in this building that you did, bake,
sales and race two hundred and fifty thousand and people
coming into, paint and do everything, and you're ten people
two in one year three hundred. Your campus is now fifty.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Acres twenty twenty eight acres, yes, twenty acres, and it's beautiful.
It looks like a university campus. It's not. It doesn't
have wires hanging down. It's a place of dignity, and
you know what we wanted, and it's very centrally located.
What we wanted with the campus is when you drive
up and you look at that space, immediately you have
(08:47):
respect because that is a place that you would imagine
that other college students are going to. And immediately the
elevation and expectation is set. We're in your neighborhood. We
want a place of dignity, and we wanted a place
of respect.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
You do vocational training in retail, culinary arts, facilities, administrative,
sport and hospitality.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Tell me, I mean, are these people who are destined
for a really ugly nineteen seventies recliner in front of
a TV at twenty three years old? Are they actually employed?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yes, that's what we do. We train them and then
we have a job placement team and not just like
we're not talking about charity jobs anymore, we're talking about
dignified work. For example, we have a JP Chase Morgan.
Jpchase have hired twenty of our adults in their back
office banking system and these are properly paid, they have benefits.
(09:50):
They are amazing, and they have the day all kinds
of data entry, collation of documents just depending on what
it is, keeping Audrey tidied, and organized, organizing meetings, doing
all the prep work for a meeting. So if you're
having a meeting, you've got everything set out for you.
It's just they're amazing. Bank of America does the same thing.
(10:12):
JP Chase Morgan does the same thing. Toyota. We have
very big companies that employ our guys and properly employ them.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
The other thing is this charity job. I'll never forget
this young man. He's working at La Made Lanes and
he's rolling silverware. And he's a very high functioning adult.
And he's musical. He can play the drums, he can
play the guitar. He's got a beautiful singing voice. And
they tell me he's got a bad attitude. I think
I would have a bad attitude if I'm given rolling silverware.
But I'm capable get him a job in a music store.
(10:41):
Go get him something where he would be stimulated. But
that idea that these guys have cognitive abilities, they have
once needs and desires just like you and I do,
and we would match that up for a job. That
is just a unique thing.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And that's part of your intake exactly. You find out
what they what they're disabilities are, what their function level are, but.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Also what they're interesting exactly, and then that's how we
find them jobs, you know, Shaka, That's how we all
find jobs. I mean, you find a commonality of interest
and then you go work, you go and explore that. Right,
that's how we do it. Why would it be any
different for our intellectual disabilities. And this campus on the
new campus, when we move there, these adults could sign
(11:23):
up for their classes the first time that we have
a career portfolio of classes and probably about eighty to
eighty five every fourteen weeks different content which we write,
by the way, and they can sign up for these
classes and they can choose their subjects. I mean that's
another thing, right, that independence of choice. When you go
to college, you can choose your subjects. Not at my possibilities.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
I'm holding the Master of Courses. Okay, I can't read it.
I really wish I could read it all, but I'm
just going to pick a couple. You know, you've got
leadership one oh one, which is completely the antithesis of
what you would think about teaching folks with disabilities. But
(12:10):
you've got basics of tech, healthy choices, cooking, community, independence, adaptive,
You've got costuming. You've got martial arts, music, yoga, performance, dance, cheerleading,
vocational foundations, individual discoveries. This thing is what is the
(12:34):
seventy five or eighty different classes.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Exactly per every fourteen weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
You've got a happy class exploring the true meaning of
being happy, Sports talk, Men's Hour, girl Power, Spanish cleaning,
clue outdoor skills, baking, one oh one, Bible study. It
goes on and on, and the very thought of people,
(13:09):
special needs folks going to a secondary education with a curriculum,
choosing their classes, learning them, matching their interest with their abilities,
and finding vocational training so that they get a real
job with real pay and real benefits. There are people
that would say you can't do that.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
We can, we can, and we do it with Brian.
And I'll tell you when you walk out building and
you see these adults going about their business and you
see them, how they care for each other, how they
are learning, and how excited they are to come to
my possibilities, you will understand that it's a magical place
to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
We'll be right back. Tell me what a hipster is.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
So you know, not the traditional no no, no, no, no,
not that one. So you know, our industry are so
called we call our they call them clients, or they
call them patients, or they call it. And we were like, okay,
now stop that these are not patients and they're not clients.
These are human beings. Let's think of something that could
be much more warming and engaging. And so we started
with VIPN. We're like, okay, that doesn't work, and then
(14:30):
hipster came on hugely important person because that's what they are,
and that's why we do whatever we do at my Possibilities.
And our hipsters love it. They are They wear their
T shirts loud and proud that they are hipsters, and
they will tell you that they're hipsters. We have hipsters
on the board. Part of that leadership class is that
you can be a board member. We've got a board member.
We've got they come to the board and they report
(14:51):
about the programs downstairs. They come and report to the
board about things that they want changed. So we encourage
all of that at every level of our kind.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Section five pillars of education for these hipsters my place
in the world. Social skills and communication development, aspiring for independence,
community at home, transportation, money management, safety awareness, self advocate.
That's interesting. Responsibility, vocability. What's that word vocabilities?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I think it's vocabilities vocal.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
But thank you vocabilities said by true properly trained South Africa.
By the way, your English is so much.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Better to mine, and it's sounds so much better.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I'd love to hear you talk employment opportunities, teamwork, sound body,
sound mind, sound body, personal care, healthy lifestyles, fitness and
inspiring something to be visual arts, pathway, culinary or its
performance based classes, communications, social. You are educating these folks
(15:59):
and not only job skills, but life skills or self
care correct things that people would say folks like these
can't achieve.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Oh my gosh, that is so wrong, such a wrong
philosophy or thought. Again, it's an old fashioned way of
thinking about people with an intellectual disability. These guys are
super capable of Our job is they've never been exposed
to these things, so they don't even know what they're
good at. Our job is to expose them to as
many opportunities as possible.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Now that's really interesting. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but
that what you just said to me is profound. This
is going to go up on our what's it called
alex are what's our thing? Quotes from army people or
normal folks wisdom? Normal folks wisdom. Please say what you
just said again, I've forgotten what I say. You said
(16:56):
that because they've never been exposed, they don't even know
what they've been going to add, which speaks to the
fact that coming up through the system, their key hold
as disabled and therefore aren't even allowed to explore on
how to yes, achieves. But you said, say it again,
you said.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
I said, they don't even know what they're good at
or what they like because they have never been exposed
to it, whether that was at school or whatever that
looks like. And so they don't know what they're good at.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
They haven't even been given opportunity.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
They haven't. I'll give you an example. We have a
very talented artist. Her name is Abby. Abby is phenomenal artists.
In fact, her work was on display. Well, Abby is
on the spectrum. She has autism. She is verbal but
only a little bit, and she is social but very
(17:48):
very basic. Right, so if you meet Abby, you would
never connect Abby to artwork. So Abby's a talented artist.
She comes to visit my possibilities or comes in the summer.
While we were in the beginning before she came to
join us, and we had an art teacher that exposed
Abby to art. Abby's art is fantastic. We go back
to the school and say, this girl is talented, please
(18:12):
put her in art classes. She's got the potential. They
could never put her in the art class. Abby's work
was on display. Just recently in Japan, she won an
award for the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Four paintings that
she did, the most beautiful detailed paintings. She's an amazing artist,
but she was never given that exposure. She only learned
(18:34):
that at My Possibilities and through private coaching from our staff.
She's learned how to do this. But that goes for everything.
There's a young woman that is an incredible baker at
My Possibilities. We call her the cookie Queen. She never
baked in her life. She didn't know how to measure anything.
We talked her that they don't know because it's like
a vacuum. They've never been exposed to these things. And
(18:56):
the more we expose them to different things, were like,
they are talented in this, they need to go do this.
This is a career for them. Let's explore that to
be able to do that. So we do a lot
of that to say what is it that they give
to add? What are they talented ad and let's explore
that that could become a job. Let's let's give them
more of those classes. It's amazing we you know, we
(19:17):
have this whole therapeutic team behind them as well that
helps with communication and behaviors to get that all under control.
And then you said, we've in our boardroom we have
a hipster's version of the Mona Lisa. And that was
my first experiences version of Lisa.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
It's a painting? And she did the Mona Lisa in
her version of it. It is the most beautiful painting.
But that was my first experience to say, Wow, these
kids are talented, tiny little Asian goal very behaviorally challenged
until you put a paintressallenge Yes, why just she she's
(19:56):
hardly she can hardly communicate until you put a paintbrush
in her hand. Unbelievable. She created this. This is her
first time that she'd ever learned to paint, and she
created this Mona Lisa painting. It is the most beautiful thing.
And we actually have it up in our conference room
because that is a reminder of all the untapped potential
that these adults have and it's our job to find it.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
And had it not been for my possibilities, ironically, she
may never have Nobody would have even known the possibilities
of her talent.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
No, because what we did is we had an exhibition
where we had these artists come and we had the
parents come in and her mother came to me because
she had her name Gina had written her name at
the bottom of the painting, and her mom came to
me and said, that is that Gino. And I was like, yeah,
your Gina, and she goes, my Gina, Well, she needs
art classes. I'm like, she's thirty five. You should have
(20:46):
given a five art lessons when she was five, right,
But to start out the gates and be able to
paint something like a mona Lisa, I couldn't do that.
There's no way I could do that. But that's what
I'm saying. All this latent talent is there. It's our
job to find it and nurture it and grow it
and see what they can do.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
That's phenomenal. So many I don't know what Ben can do, yes.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
And what they would do if they were exposed to
this when they were young, like five, right. Most of
us get exposed to good things. I mean, I watched
your documentary and I was just thinking about, Gosh, when
we're young and we're exposed to things, it advances us
so much, right, because we're exposed to something and you
can see at a young age perhaps that someone's talented,
(21:30):
and then what do you do you steer them in
that direction, right, But when you're thirty five and you're like, wow, okay,
you haven't quite missed the boat by gee, those formative years.
What would it have been like if it was earlier?
Speaker 1 (21:45):
So how many people on this campus now?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Six hundred and seventy five as yes, my gosh, six
hundred and seventy five staff over one hundred.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
How do you pay for this?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
We have to fundraise, and we have to fundraise, and
we have to do events, and we have wonderful relationships
with donors and foundations, and that's how we have to
do it.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
That are you pinching yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You know? Sometimes I walk that campus and I think
to myself, Wow, I had an idea, but not like this.
It's way beyond my thinking. I mean, we had thought
about a campus, but not like this where so many
adults come and they just love being there. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Larry still think you're nuts this quote. Without my possibilities,
our family would not have been able to find a
way to give each other, each of our children an
opportunity to grow. Patricia M I want to go back
to that one in a minute second. Coming to my
(22:59):
possible abilities is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Enjoy coming here so much because I can come and
warm something. James us. It's really important that our listeners
understand that this is life changing, not only for the
folks who are in the program, but the families. So
(23:23):
much loss and despair and anxiety over what to do
is replaced with.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Hope, yes, and growth and opportunities right because this is
a world where there are no growth and opportunities. And
so our parents that's why our parents love what we
do with My Possibilities and why you know, when we
were looking at when we are looking at residential options,
they're like, whatever you do, we don't want to leave
the campus. We need to be close to the campus.
(23:48):
We need our adults to live and come to the
campus because that hole. My Possibilities program is done. And
the trust that they know that their adults are taken
they are safe, they're well taken care of, and they chance.
That trust that those parents have with us is amazing.
But it's a blessing and a curse because it's a
big delivery. It's a big responsibility to do that all
(24:09):
the time. Is to make sure that these adults are safe.
They are challenged every day and our parents just love that.
And I love that. I mean the other day, Carl's
caseworker came to the house and wanted to see him
at home before he went to My Possibility. Her name
was Jennifer Goures. Hi, Jennifer, I'm late. He wanted to
go back to My Possibilities. You're in my way, little, yeah,
(24:31):
I'm late. He doesn't want to miss anything, right. He's
home with us for a week and then he wants
to go back because he's had enough of us. He
wants to be with his friends. He wants to you know,
when I pick him up, he's got a big smile
on his face. But that's what happens in that building.
And if you walk in that building, people say, Hi,
how are you. I love it here, I love my math,
I love this. Welcome, come and see our place. They're
(24:52):
so proud of their place, right because it's their place,
and they're so proud of that.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We'll be right back. If you ever start a football team,
let me know welcome.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I'll take you up on that. I think they know.
They call it.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
I told a show.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
They call it Sharmain's Web. You have to be very
careful what you promise.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So you alluded to it, but I won't let you
just kind of go with it. You don't. You don't
strike me as a person that grass grows readily under
their feet. What's next?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Residential? You know my safe on campus just off the
campus so close by. Unfortunately we're not zoned where we
off on the campus for residential. We do have plans
for dormitories on there where you can learn how to
live individually, because that's another thing we talked about it earlier.
My son doesn't have an experience of sleeping out at
a friend's house. He has no experience of that. He
(26:00):
all he knows is sleeping in his own room with
his mom and dad. Right, He just has no experience
about sleeping out or what it feels like to live independently.
And also, because he's lived with me so long, I
probably have developed the most bad habits with helping him
where he's more capable of doing that. So that training
where they'll learn how to live independently will be on
the campus.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Wow, that's interesting is as they learn, parents have to
be able to get.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Out of the way and let him go. Yes, Mom's
going to need therapy. When he moves into residential, are
you going.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
To do it in a mirror because you're a therapist?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Exactly?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I think So okay, So residential, what's that going to
look like?
Speaker 2 (26:37):
So we originally had one hundred.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Residential is rot with opportunities for pitfalls and.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Issues, yes, yes, and abuse, yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Scary If somebody is being loud and obnoxious and you've
had it, just beat him and them back in the bird.
Or if you're a predator, that is a that is
that is easy fishing grounds exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
And that's why my son still lives at home with me.
The current group home model, that's not going to happen.
I don't trust it. It's so he said. She said, I've.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Seen what you're about to start that.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yes, but differently that's what I want to do. So
we're going to do it a little differently because it'll
be our staff. Our staff will be trained, it'll be different,
we'll have much more eyes on and also what we're
planning to do, we had a one hundred and eighty
acres of a golf course that we were going to
build a residential community. What we had one hundred and
eighty acres an old golf club, but unfortunately, due to
(27:42):
the costs post COVID, there's no way we can build
that community.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Somebody gave you a golf club.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yes, this gentler one of our donors, Yes, one of these,
one of our fantastic donors, bought this property for us.
But unfortunately, with the costs rising post COVID and being
a golf course, trying to even out the property for
our population, it didn't work. The math didn't work. The
houses would be too expensive for our families to explore.
(28:10):
So we've moved closer. Now there's a mall that is
being redeveloped in our neighborhood and it's got housing on
it and it's five minutes away from the My Possibilities campus.
We are aiming to buy six four bedroom units in
that block and start a pilot there, and then there
are some apartments that are at the back, so for
(28:31):
those individuals who are able to live independently in an
apartment that need oversight and supervision, we can provide that
and then this pilot program in the homes, and so
that's what we're working on currently. It's around and it'll
be different. It's in the most beautiful buildings, four bedrooms.
Each person has their own bathroom and bedroom, and they'll
be able to stay there with supervision, and it'll be
(28:53):
our staff, our train staff, and the beauty of being
six together. It's not one isolated with one staff member.
It is a community of people where there will be
lots of eyes on these adults, So there'll be not
just one person's version. There'll be lots of people around,
and so it'll be safer for us. And so how
will eventually go there when they are ready, It's going
(29:16):
to be It's going to take a lot for me
to let him go, but I want him to go
while I can still be around to help him with
that transition. While I can still help him. He can
come home for weekends and he can do what he
needs to do while I'm alive. I don't want him
to go to a facility if something happens to me
and I'm not around. I want him to be there.
(29:37):
I want him to help. I want to help him
make that transition.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And the beautiful part about that is you happen to
run a school that can teach him the tools.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
On how to on how to live, and he's already
got a big part of his life during the day
on the campus, so they'll see him on the campus,
he'll go home. So we've got a lot more eyes
on these adults to make sure that they're well fed,
they're well treated. We'll be able to see all of
that kind of stuff as opposed to an isolated little
(30:07):
group home somewhere.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
I got to ask you, what is the budget, annual
budget for this thing.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Well, that's the thing that we're working on right now.
We have to raise four million dollars in order to
be able to put the down payments on these homes,
and that's what we're working on annually.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
No, what's the annual budget for the whole shooting match?
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Are you talking about? My possibilities are? Where are ten
million a year?
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Does anybody pay for any of these classes?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Some of them pay, so for example, if they have
a Medicaid waiver program, they use that money, but it's tiny.
It's like anywhere between nineteen and twenty four dollars a day.
We'll take that, and then if you have private pay options,
we will charge you. But everybody in that building we
raise money for. There's a big difference between the fee
(30:56):
that is paid and what it cost us to run that.
That's where our fundraising gap comes from. Our fundraising team
this year raised four point two million dollars just for operating,
just to close that gap. And the more people we have,
the bigger that number gets.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That Is that a point of stress for you? Oh?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
All the time. Yes, it is a point of stress because,
like I said, we've created nirvana and Nirvana has to
continue and to build that making sure that that legacy
never goes away. These adults count on us every day.
This is their life. I can go get another job, right,
I can move somewhere else, but this is their lives
(31:39):
and that puts a lot of pressure on us to
make sure that those doors are open and functioning every
day and well functioning.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
On the one hand, I hear that number and it's astounding.
On the other hand, in and around Dallas, there are
people to whom four million dollars is jump change. So
it is there, it's there, but.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
It's not necessary there for our population. It's people are
very philanthropic in Dallas, right, they're very philanthropically minded, but
typically it's for children, it's cancer, it's all of those things.
But these are adults and not as much we really
there are lots of places that turn us down because
(32:20):
it's not the population that they serve, all the population
that they care. And so yes, we've got lots of
philanthropic dollars, but it doesn't all come to people with
intellectual disabilities.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I bet if you can ever get somebody on campus
to look and see and touch and feel that they
fall in love.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
They do. And we do that all the time. We've
set up to us all the time because we know
that somewhere someone is going to engage you on that
campus and they can touch your heart.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Sure. Mean, you're a mom with a kid that was
aging out a system and had no idea what to do,
and here you are some fifteen years later with seven
hundred people on a two twenty acre campus with a
four or five million dollar budget.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
You are nuts, my husband thinks.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So. I mean the other two moms, these three moms
that started this, or are they still with you?
Speaker 2 (33:21):
No? Unfortunately in the beginning the two dropped out very quickly.
But yes, and also I was very much the third
mother that came in to do the intakes because I
had another you know, I was working and earning my income,
so I was very much a third mother and then
ended up running it for years to be able to
do that. But I must tell you that there is
(33:42):
an incredible bunch of team and at my possibilities, the staff,
the fundraising people are all very passionate about what do
we do and they work so hard to be able
to do that. So this is a village, right, So
I mean having an idea and then executing on an idea,
it doesn't help if you don't have a village of
(34:03):
people who care and want to do that.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
When you step back and take stock of all of this,
well burst through your head.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
You know. I just look at this. I'm like, oh gosh,
how did we do this and how did it get
this momentum and whatever? And I think to myself, Wow,
these guys have a purpose and they have a passion.
And every time I go there, they just want to
hug on you and just love on you. And I'll
tell you just think yourself, Wow, I'm so blessed by
the idea that I can see that these guys are growing.
(34:37):
And you know, it might be for my son, but
it's really for our people. I mean, they deserve that, right,
They deserve a chance. They deserve something different, and we've
become We've set the trend. We can't go back. Now.
Everybody wants to do better, and sometimes they copy what
we do and be like, Okay, that's fine because if
they copy what we do, they're making it better for
(35:00):
whatever their adults are. So we don't mind. We'll share
that with you. We'll share whatever you want to come
and see and do because we wanted better for other people.
Because if we don't do it, who's going to do it? Right,
If we don't do it, who's going to do it?
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Tell me one more story, okay, one more uplifting story
of a hipster that showed up to you in your
own words, not even knowing what they could do or
what their interests were, or having never been exposed to it,
that is now doing something that we would be like, wow.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
I'll use Aaron as an example. We used to call
him the Chief. He became the Chief. Yeah, he was
always bossy. He's bossing everybody around. So Erin had been
with us for a couple of years and really, I
think his father died and it's just his mom, and
he was really just full of nonsense. Behaviorally, he was
just you know, chief, bossing around, don't tell me what
(35:55):
to do. And eventually Aaron kind of got with the program.
We got him behavioral support, and Eron got a job,
and he got a job at Jbchase Morgan and he
came for a day of impact with his team. He
brought his team to come and work and do a
service project at my Possibilities and he was leading that
(36:18):
service project with his work team, and he was so proud.
He came in and he was introducing his work team
to me and to his teachers and to whatever. But
he was now an employee of this company, and he
was so proud of what he'd done at My Possibility
and now he was coming to share that with his team.
That was an amazing I mean, just to see this
(36:39):
kid go from behaviorally challenged to settling down doing the
work that he needed to do to learn how to
do this. We placed him in this job and then
he brings his whole team around and they loved him.
They called him the chief too, so he was still
the chief. He was still the Chief, and he was
so but he was so proud of himself. You could
(37:00):
if his little shirt in his heart could have, you know,
burst open it could have because he were so proud
to come and show them where he'd come from and
how hard he'd worked, and that he look what he
was doing now with his team. It was amazing and
they were fantastic with him too.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
When I sit here and compare that story against the
balance of the likelihood that without my possibilities, the chief
would be sitting in front of a TV.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Somewhere yes medicated, Yes, and he.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Would, especially if his behavioral challenge medica medicated.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
And also where would his team be. He wouldn't have
a team of typically developed people that are working alongside
him and encouraging him at work. He wouldn't have a team.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Are you allowing yourself to understand that you probably saved
us life?
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I don't think about it that way, I think, but
it is. I think we see those stories all the time.
We're just so blessed to be able to witness that
that you see something like that. You know, most of
us we touch someone's life, but you don't see what
you do in that person's life. We get to see it,
and that is such a blessing to see how we
parents one story of many at my possibilities that we
(38:05):
see we touch it, we see it, we feel the
letters that we get from our parents about how these
kids are doing at home. It's such a blessing to
see that.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
I'm still having a hard time getting over one hundred
acre undern eighty acre golf course thing. I'd certainly get
the build out would be just an extraordinary amount of money.
Love that you're doing the off campus housing thing. But
I gotta ask, I mean, why can't this happen in
(38:38):
other parts of the country and be exported And is
there any plans or thoughts of that or has anybody
reached out to you.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Oh, we see a lot of people from different states
that come to us and want to my possibilities in
their neighborhood. Unfortunately, we haven't addressed the need in our
own local community. But we are willing to share what
we do. What we do isn't a secret, and we
want to share that because it will improve the lives
of everybody else. But you know, I think one of
the reasons that doesn't exist. It's a lot of hard work,
(39:06):
and you have to have a community of people that
will support you. And you've got to have a band
of people who are willing to work together to do
it and really get that momentum to be able to
do it. Because that's what we did. We rode this
sort of crest of the wave engaging the community. And
not every community is as supportive as our community is,
(39:28):
and I think that makes that's what makes it different.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
But it's out there. Yes, you will teach them, you
will show them, you will lay out the groundwork, You'll
give them all of your experiences.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
They can come spend a day with us, see what
we do, learn what we do. We open our doors
all the time. We don't, you know, we want everybody
to do what we do. We want it to be better.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
The possibilities right, that's.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Right, yes, And that's where the name came from. You know,
when we were looking at names, we were like, my possibilities.
My son needs to have possibilities, And that's how we
came up with the name of My Possibilities.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
I love it if somebody wants to look up My
Possibilities or reach out to you because maybe they say
this needs to happen in Topeka. Where do they go?
Speaker 2 (40:14):
Easy Charmain at m p t X dot org. My
Possibilities Texas dot org. M p t X c H A.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
R M A I N E at M P t
X dot org. That's it, and I guess My Possibilities
has a website.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Oh yes, what is that? Just my Possibilities dot org.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
I love it. You're phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
Thank you. It's hey. I'm a mom first, and I
will tell you that my son is brave, and he's
an amazing young man and he deserves nothing but the best.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Charmaine, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
Thank you, thank you for having me here today.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
It's been my distinct closure.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
And thank you for joining us this week. If Charmaine
Solomon has inspired you in general, or better yet, to
take action by donating to My Possibilities, sharing it with
adults with disabilities who could be interested in going there,
starting something like it in your community, or something else entirely,
(41:29):
please let me know. I'd love to hear about it.
You can write me anytime at Bill at normal folks
dot us, and I promise you I will respond. If
you enjoyed this episode, guys, share it with friends on social,
subscribe to the podcast, rate it, review it, join the
(41:49):
army at Normalfolks dot us. Consider becoming a Premium member there,
any and all of these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Fortney. Until
next time, do what you can
Host
Bill Courtney
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