This website is inspired by Deena's story. Deena was born to mentally handicapped parents who neglected to care for her as an infant. This led to her nearly dying from malnutrition and starvation. She was taken from them and put up for adoption. Once she was adopted, she was often beaten, castigated, and was taught that she too was mentally disabled. This continued until she was left homeless as a teen mom. While homeless she encountered more hardships as she struggled to provide for herself and her child. Living on the streets of NYC only made things worse as she then became vulnerable to abuse by people in society. She saw death, was raped, robbed, and had to physically fight in order to protect herself and her child. The whole time Deena never gave up and never complained about her situation. Her displacement lasted about two years. But life remained a struggle. She just moved on from one abusive relationship to another. She lived through all of this until she realized that she had not asked for any of these hardships. She had had them handed to her unwillingly.
Deena is a woman who has taken the misfortunes of her past and are now using them to try and help others realize that their adversities are not necessarily their destinies. She has become a mentor to young girls, especially those in the foster care system and pregnant teens. She donates her time to homeless, and women's shelters, and at-risk youth organizations. Deena has studied cosmetology and used that to provide services to clients who cannot afford high-end salon services, and she has a degree in Human Services. Deena has recently been doing speaking engagements, a certified Life Coach and is greatly involved in several charity events.
Ironically, Deena is now employed by an agency that provides independent living skills to mentally disabled adults. She is married to her long-time friend of sixteen years and they are raising six children. But mostly, Deena is known for her keen fashion sense, her flamboyant personality and her extensive collection of AWESOME shoes.
Please stay tuned for up-coming books!