Helping Hand

Some people build businesses on big ideas—others on big hearts. Sometimes, the best business plan is just knowing how to help people.

Music might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to helping people, but for Vanessa Lomas, it’s her love language…or maybe help language. Vanessa is the owner of TheraCare Music Therapy. Ninety percent of TheraCare’s clients are autistic, have down syndrome or cerebral palsy.

Vanessa Lomas, her business, TheraCare Music Therapy, has her singing and playing instruments all day treating kids with autism, Down’s Syndrome, and cerebral palsy

The idea behind music therapy is that it can help people express or cope with their feelings. That can be a powerful mode of connection, for instance, for people with autism.

Vanessa is a military kid who’s lived all over the place. She landed in Lafayette in 2014 and has made it her mission to support people like her brother, who is autistic and nonverbal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music therapy from William Carey University and a master’s in music and music therapy from Florida State University. She is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and also specializes in neonatal music therapy. Vanessa is also involved with CYT and volunteers at her church’s children’s ministry.

Roy Hebert knows a thing or two about business. He’s been in banking, finance, and the oilfield, and now he’s giving that knowledge away for free. Roy is a mentor with SCORE, a nationwide organization that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

Roy Hebert, taking his years of business experience and handing it on to a younger generation for free, at SCORE

A Kaplan native, Roy attended UL for both his undergraduate degree and MBA. His career spans decades in the financial sector, including roles in commercial banking, corporate finance, and consulting.

Roy is an adjunct professor at SLCC, and that’s where he discovered SCORE, a program of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE, an acronym for Service Core of Retired Executives is a free service that connects experienced business leaders with burgeoning entrepreneurs. Roy says his clients come from all walks of life and range in sector and scale. They could be starting a landscaping business or getting an oilfield service company off the ground.