From One Voice: Summer 2024
By Kara Trettin | Development Communications Director, One Vision

Hanging out in sun-soaked downtown Clear Lake for Thursdays on Main. Cheering on the North Iowa Bulls as they swish across the ice on blustery Iowa Friday nights. Dancing for Downs at the historic Surf Ballroom.

These are examples of a young couple’s bustling calendar.

Meet Alec and Jaylin.

“We met at a Christmas dance on December 31, 2019,” Jaylin said, describing how their relationship began. “I walked up to my friend and said, ‘Who’s that?’ and she’s like ‘That’s my friend, Alec,’ and I asked, ‘Is he single? He’s cute!’”

With a look of care at Alec and a smile spreading across her face, Jaylin explained she was incredibly nervous, but she still approached Alec and introduced herself.

“I wasn’t expecting it. When she got close, I was like, ‘Oh!’” Alec said, returning Jaylin’s smile.

This was the beginning of Alec and Jaylin as a couple—all starting with a dance.

“We talked, texted, and all that, and then as the year went by, I brought her to my dad’s house and my dad got to know her,” Alec said.

At the time, Alec was living in a One Vision Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) home in Mason City and Jaylin was living with her parents in Rockwell.

With some strategizing, the couple worked on transitioning to homes in the same city.

According to Alec and Jaylin, neither his dad nor her parents were surprised about their plans to live in the same city.

With perfect timing, Alec moved into a home in Clear Lake with two roommates and Jaylin moved into a One Vision-sponsored Host Home, also in Clear Lake. The couple enjoys attending hockey games during the winter season and attending local events with friends.

“We like to come to restaurants and bars, Thursdays on Main, and sometimes we go to our parents’ houses,” Alec said, adding that they also hang out at each other’s homes and watch movies. Alec also likes to cook for Jaylin, anything from ribeye steaks and potatoes to Greek pasta, which Jaylin exclaimed is her favorite.

“I guess it’s just like we like to do a lot of stuff together; we try to get along, it’s kind of like what anyone else would do,” Alec said.

The couple agreed that they are each working on their goals and taking their relationship one day at a time… while living their best life.