Delores and Dale are newlyweds. Plenty of people get married, but to those who know Delores and Dale, this is truly a match made in heaven. Everyone who meets Delores and Dale can’t help but root for this couple. Dale and Delores give thanks to everyone who helped them along the long road they’ve traveled, including CFH Health Educator, Loretta Gaillard, and other CFH workers at the CFH medical clinic and other staff members at the Doe Fund’s Peter Jay Sharpe Residence in Brooklyn.

They met at Peter Jay Sharpe over two years ago when Dale was in the Ready, Willing and Able Program and Delores was working on the housecleaning crew. As Dale says, it was just like yesterday.

Dale credits the Doe Fund with giving him opportunity, and he says, he took full advantage of it. He came to Peter Jay Sharpe with no place to live and no job. When he was placed in the field, his hard work, focus and reliability caught the eyes of his supervisors, who gave him more responsibilities and opportunities to prove himself. It was then that he met Loretta Gaillard during a scheduled individual intervention. He says that meeting Loretta helped him open up. “Talking to Loretta is like talking to my sister, even like talking to my mother.” This relationship and support system is still a part of Dale and Delores’s life. They come back to Peter Jay Sharpe often to talk to Loretta and the other staff members.

Delores and Dale slowly became friends and as their conversations grew longer they found that they had a lot of similar interests. It was new to Delores to meet a man with goals, who was so well-mannered. Dale found someone who he knew would always be there for him.

Delores and Dale share a strong work ethic, and both are go-getters. Delores says it is important to her that son sees his mother getting up and going to work, so he learns to do the same. Dale says that his mother is responsible for his work ethic, manners, and willingness to always pitch in and help others. As Dale says, he has always run toward work, while others run away from it.

Their friendship grew during the time that Dale started job hunting. Delores says that it was hard to see him go out day after day and not get the results he was looking for. She knew what it was like to go out hopeful, ready, and willing and able to do a good job, only to get turned down. She says that what impressed her was Dale’s attitude; he got frustrated but never got discouraged. Their relationship taught her patience, discipline and trust in people. For Dale, knowing Delores will never turn her back on him is the greatest of all the opportunities he has been so fortunate to receive.

It was because of this love and support that they got married on Saturday, May 30, each for the first time, surrounded by friends and family, including Loretta Gaillard. In fact, they held up the ceremony until she arrived. They knew that Loretta didn’t want to only be at the reception, she wanted to see them joined together as husband and wife.

Right now, both of them work part-time in the same clothing store; Dale has a second job in the evening. Delores has certificates from a culinary program and security program. She is eager to use her cooking skills, and recently applied for a cooking job with a non-profit agency. Dale’s goal right now is to help his children, especially his older son who is incarcerated in Alabama. He also wants to return to the boxing ring; the sport that helped him learn discipline and focus earlier in life.

Their past struggles have led to a better life than they each though possible. Both never thought they would meet someone like each other. Delores likes to tell others to, “never say you can’t do it, just stick with it.” Dale wants others to know that, “anything the mind can conceive, it can achieve.”

They have both been through a lot, and have come through smiling. Dale sums it up best when he says, “I am proud of us.”