Childhood prepared this Okie for career

Oct. 14—J'Dene Rogers-Huerta recalled how her childhood prepared her for what she does now.

"We were pretty poor growing up, but we didn't know it because Mom really strived to make sure we got to go to the opera, make sure we got to see plays, concerts do some travel," she said. "She wanted us to be exposed to the real world and add some sophistication to our lives. Those young years allowed me to not be so intimidated by the larger world."

Part of that experience came when her mother worked at Taft State Hospital.

"I knew from the time I was 5 or 6 years old that I wanted to be a psychologist," Rogers said. "I don't think I knew the word for it, but I would go to work with my mother at the mental hospital, and I had an understanding of what those people were their for. One of her friends who was a social worker let me use his office."

She recalled putting a hat on a pedestal ashtray, "and he was my first client."

Rogers-Huerta went on to earn degrees in social work and psychology. She did an internship in Chicago, then got a job with a community mental health clinic serving Chicago's low income. She also joined a street ministry in nearby Gary, Indiana.

"At the time, it was the murder capital of America," she said.

But even then, Rogers-Huerta drew from her experiences growing up.

"I think my mother helped prepare me for Gary," she said. "Because it didn't matter if it was the janitor or the president, she treated them the same. It didn't matter if they were Indian, Black, white, polka-dot. It makes me teary, but she taught us that. If it was the drunk woman on the street or the pastor of the megachurch I went to, it didn't matter."

Okie upbringing played in her favor

J'Dene Rogers-Huerta says she got a "wealth of experience" working at a Chicago mental health clinic.

"But it didn't matter if it was Greek Town, Polish Town, Italian Town, whatever, people were just people," she said. "So many Greek folks, Polish folks and Black folks, Hispanic. It truly was so wonderful to me to see the different cultures."

She recalled worrying at first that the big city people saw her as a "dumb Okie." That later played in her favor.

"I remember my supervisor saying to me that I was so bright and so charming," Rogers-Huerta said. "I always felt that was kind of my Okie upbringing, plain folks, and that's just who I was."

Rogers-Huerta found a similar challenge doing inner-city ministry in neighboring Gary, Indiana.

She recalled feeling scared when she had to ask directions, "but they were so nice."

She said she drove along Gary streets and prayed for the residents. She recalled giving clothes away.

"Anything I could do to love Gary, Indiana, I did it," Rogers-Huerta said.

Rogers-Huerta says son helped spur interest

Rogers-Huerta seeks to help children she says are differently abled.

"This would be kids with autism, or Downs Syndrome, intellectual disability, could be cerebral palsy," she said. "Even some mental health issues that are kind of outside the 'norm' and they need a little extra support."

Having a son with autism helped spur this interest.

"I was really concerned about his needs being met," she said.

Rogers-Huerta has been a consultant with Hope Kids Outreach, a program for differently abled children. She said she helped the organization provide personnel for a classroom at Boulevard Christian School.

Financing to pay for teachers and therapists is a major challenge, Rogers-Huerta said.

However rewards have been tremendous, she said.

She said one former Hope Kids Outreach child has a PhD from University of Arkansas. Another performed music at a recent Arts for Autism Gala.

Finding staff, clients is biggest challenge

Rogers-Huerta's counseling business has grown a lot since she started it in 2003.

"It was me and 15 clients," she said. "Now it's 30 employees and we probably serve 700 clients a year."

She said her business has contracted with Muskogee Public Schools for 19 years, and has worked with Fort Gibson, Oktaha, Checotah and Warner schools. Her business also works a lot with the juvenile and adult court system.

"We're fee for service, which means we get no funding for the state," she said. "So my biggest challenge is finding enough staff and enough volume of clients to pay the bills."

She said finds it rewarding when she sees former patients thriving.

"I had a woman at Walmart or the grocery store and she was with someone, and she came up and hugged me. She said 'this is Dr. Rogers, she saved my son's life," Rogers-Huerta said. "She said he had autism, it was undiagnosed, we were in constant trouble. He graduated, went on to have his own business and family."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I was born and raised here. When I got ready to go back and get my doctorate, I went to University of Arkansas. When I went on internship in the Chicago area, after internship, they hired me. I ended up working there for six years. Through a turn of events, I kept thinking 'who is taking care of my people in Muskogee.?' My grandmother passed away in right before 9/11. That made me start thinking about coming back home. In 2003, I felt led to come back to Muskogee."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"I love that Muskogee is growing. We're putting in so many new shops and restaurant. Muskogee has a lot of kind, caring people. Muskogee has a lot of need, and I feel like I can be a part of helping that need."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"Like most places, Muskogee would be a better place if people would just slow down a little bit, especially with their emotions and words. I'm on several Muskogee groups on Facebook, and so many things said about Muskogee are derogatory, and I hate that. That's not the Muskogee I knew or know. I wish people would just look at the positive things we are doing."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"My mother, Freddy Rogers. She was just a remarkable person. She was a single mom, two kids, put herself through nursing school at Bacone. She has worked tirelessly in her career. She worked a Taft State Hospital when it was a mental hospital for Black people only. She has such a caring heart, giving spirit."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"I flunked my driving test on my 16th birthday. In high school, my teachers were wonderful, encouraged me to go to college. I had my son here in Muskogee."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I have little spare time. We like to go camping and kayaking. We always do a big summer vacation with the whole family. We go out on our land sometimes and have picnics or fires."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"Muskogee is a good place, with potential to be a great place. I think if people see the good in it and work together, it will have great potential."