Meet Crystal Limon

Crystal has been an integral part of the D.E.S.I. community for the past seven years. Not only has Crystal been coaching clients, but she has also been working at our thrift store. Please check out this interview and find out why she’s such a hit with our clients!

DESI: How did you come to work at D.E.S.I.?

Crystal: I had a friend who was working at D.E.S.I., so she told me about the job, and it seemed perfect. I was always a caretaker. I used to be an IHSS worker, and I used to take care of my mom’s stepdad, and I also took care of my grandma.

DESI: So your caretaking was just a natural segue for D.E.S.I.?

Crystal: Yes. Being a caretaker now to young adults that have a disability was something new, but exciting, because I really enjoy taking care of other people. Seeing the joy in the clients when I would go work with them was a good feeling. The adjustment was more learning each of their individual disabilities and how to go about helping them with their goals and meeting the expectations that were needed for each individual.

DESI: What tools do you use to help clients connect with you?

Crystal: You have to have a lot of patience and understanding of each individual because they’re all completely different. So you can’t work with each individual the same exact way. You have to see the needs of each one.

DESI: What successes have you had with your clients?

Crystal: I helped my client Sandy with her self-esteem. I talked to her a lot and got her the help she needed. She’s very independent, but she still needed guidance. She actually just got hired three years ago at Ono Hawaiian, and she’s escalated now to a lead in the position at work. So I’m very proud of her for that, that we worked together on learning the skills that got her that job.

With another client, Evelyn, it took me a while to get her out of her shell because she’s super shy. So, when I started working with her, there was no communication. She would not speak to me. I would be basically talking to myself.

DESI: How did you overcome that?

Crystal: I would try to make it fun. I knew from her mom what she liked to do, like browsing at Ross, Target, and Walmart. So I’d go around and do those things with her. I familiarized myself with what her likes were, and she started opening up. We used to go to restaurants, and she would hide behind me. She didn’t even want to order. So I would ask her, “What is it that you want that’s on the menu?” and I’d order for her. Now she goes up and orders her own food. On Fridays, she helps at our food bank. At first, she was not comfortable enough to speak to anybody. So even if they would say hi, she would just smile and turn around. Now she has conversations with everyone she knows there.

DESI: That’s so sweet. What do you feel like you’ve learned from D.E.S.I.?

Crystal: I’ve learned a lot working here. Attending the IPPs has shown me how we work with the regional center and the services that they provide, getting the proper resources for our clients to guide them and help them grow. We see what their goals are, how we’re going to help to meet them, and then what works and what’s going to be best for that particular client.

DESI: Emotionally, have the clients gifted you with anything?

Crystal: Just their appreciation. And I think that’s what matters the most to me, seeing that they’re very appreciative of the help that they’ve received. That makes me feel really good.