Meet Dawn and Willie Jones of Stepping Stones Intervention Services in Jonesboro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn and Willie Jones.

Dawn and Willie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Dawn Jones- I was born in Miami Florida but grew up in College Park and Jonesboro, Georgia. I graduated from Benjamin E. Banneker High School, attended Clark Atlanta University and completed my B.S. degree in Occupational Therapy from Florida A& M University in 2001. After working with adults in rehabilitation for 4 years, I begin to develop an interest and passion to work in pediatrics. I worked for Atlanta Public Schools a few years, then and then started Stepping Stones Intervention Services in January of 2005. At this time, I continued to work full time; however, I begin to become a provider for several Insurance companies and begin to work for myself and provide Occupational Therapy services in the homes of children with Special Needs. I was also contracted to work for Babies Can’t Wait which allowed me to serve many children from ages 0-3 in Clayton and Henry County. Throughout the years I served both adults and children. During this time, my husband attained a Master’s Degree in Counseling and furthered pursued his Doctorate degree, July of 2012 is when my husband and I decided to step out on faith and start a small outpatient clinic in Jonesboro to service the families in our community. The demand for both Counseling and Pediatric Occupational Therapy services in our area was huge. Our clientele grew, as well as, staff. We moved to a larger location about a mile away in Jonesboro in October of 2014. I currently have 6 therapists that consists of Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapist Assistants and one Physical Therapist. I’m also a clinic instructor for student interns and students who want to pursue a degree in Occupational Therapy. This has truly been a dream that has come true. There is so much that I want and will do in regards to serving those individuals who are under-privileged and under-served in our community.

Dr. Willie Jones- I am the Clinical Director of Counseling and Therapy at Stepping Stones Intervention Services. I am a native of Atlanta, Georgia and was educated in the Atlanta Public School System. First at Leana Jean Campbell Elementary School, then at Luther Judson Price Middle School, and then graduating from Fulton High School. I grew up in rough government housing projects near downtown Atlanta called Carver Homes. I was blessed to make it out of the projects to earned my B.A. in History Education from Clark Atlanta University, a Masters of Science in Counseling from the University of West Georgia, and earned my Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Capella University. I knew early on that I wanted to work with youth to overcome the challenges the underprivileged and undeserved because I knew their plight and could offer myself as model of how to overcome adversity. As an experienced Licensed Professional Counselor and learning from the personal challenges of growing up poor, I have worked with families and individuals on various issues such as behavior modification, grief, depression, couples therapy, family roles and dynamics, and much more to overcome their own personal challenges. Using the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach, I am proud to say that have helped children and their families develop and accomplish behavioral and counseling goals in a calm and nurturing environment that allows for continuous growth.

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?
Some of the struggles along the way include but are not limited to: maintaining a balance between our personal life, family, and managing our clinic. Being effective leaders, managing staff, continuously trying to maintain excellence in patient care and satisfaction, this can be challenging at times; however, mostly rewarding as we see our business continue to grow.

Owning our own business has never been smooth; however, we wouldn’t be where we are today without struggles and trials along the way. Our faith in God, perseverance and believing that God has given us a platform to fulfill our purpose and gifts has enabled us to get through our struggles as business owners.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Stepping Stones Intervention Services – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Currently, we provide Pediatric Occupational Therapy, & Physical Therapy services. for children birth to ages 21 and Counseling Services to adults, adolescents, and families.

We specialize in children with Special Needs and Disabilities. Some of the children we serve have the following diagnosis, but not limited to: Autism, Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorders, Orthopedic Injuries or impairments, Developmental Delays, Down Syndrome etc. Our Counseling services address behavior modification, grief, anger management, depression, couples therapy, family roles and dynamics, and much more.

What sets us apart from other clinics is that we are a diverse clinic with staff from various ethnic backgrounds that also provide a variety of services that are specific to our customer’s needs. We share an office space with our business partner whom is a Speech Language Pathologists. This allows our families to receive Speech services at our location as well. Most of our families receive at least 2 out of the 4 services we provide at our clinic.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We plan on expanding this year. We would like to open a second clinic nearby to solely focus on Adult Rehabilitation and Counseling. We would like to keep our current clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Rehabilitation and Behavioral Health Counseling and Educational Advocacy.

We have created a 501-3C Non-Profit organization called SSIS. Our mission is to offer therapy services and programs to adults and children of undeserved and underprivileged communities. that are not covered by regular insurance or medicaid.

Programs such as social groups for children with Autism, Educational Advocacy for parents and children with disabilities, Mentoring groups, College and Career Readiness, Handwriting for kids, Parenting skills classes, Tutoring and much more.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2759 Mount Zion Pkwy
  Suite A, Jonesboro GA 30236
• Website: www.steppingstonesinterventionservices.com
• Phone: Phone: 678 545 6745 Fax: 678-489-7065
• Email: steppingstonesintervention@gmail.com

Image Credit:
CourtneyBushPhoto

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