We recently connected with Janea Harris and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Janea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

I serve the underserved communities by providing education and financial resources to include a mentorship program. My STAMP mentorship program allows opportunities for enrolled participants to take advantage of internships, job shadowing, and On -the- job training with professionals in their industry of interest. We believe in paving the way for the underserved by providing tools to assist with them becoming self-sufficient and financially independent. Due to the increase of poverty in the disadvantaged communities, we find great interest in teaching families the importance of financial sustainability with a chance to gain secured employment or career exploration.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Janea’ Harris, Founder and Executive Director of ONFIYA Agency, Inc a 501 C 3 non profit for youth and young adults. At the age of 15 I became a teen mom, 21 loss a brother to gun violence, survived domestic violence at 25, defeated homelessness, and found a passion within helping disadvantaged youth and their families. It was my experiences that drove me into the non profit industry because I realized that there were not effective and/or impactful organizations that could provide 1-1 mentoring. Growing up in a very dysfunctional home in which lead to various wrong decisions. I searched throughout my adolescents and adulthood for a mentor by contacting churches, agencies, and community organizations. However, there was no one to assist me with what I needed to become a self-sufficient adult.

ONFIYA Agency, Inc was established in November 2012 due to the lack of resources from various organizations and looking at my entire life of how I have persevered through many challenges without a mentor. It is in the best interest of youth and young adults that have the same background such as me to be able to connect with someone that can help them navigate through life so I created a mentoring program that enhances social and emotional wellbeing, education, employment, and life-skills development. The agency is in direct response to the growing number of youth and young adults that are falling through the cracks at school, already in the judicial system, or succumbing to negative influences within their communities.

What sets ONFIYA apart from other agencies and organizations is our ability to implement intervention and prevention programs with a holistic approach. Our mentors are matched with their mentees based off of their life experiences and challenges. My entire team take pride in the connections we make with our population of you who are in foster care, encountered domestic violence, homelessness, grief due to loss of a loved one and have prior convictions or affiliated with in any state or gov’t agencies.

I am most proud of the many lives I have impacted over the past 10 years. My team and I have been able to serve over 500 undeserved families with resources, education, and opportunities to better provide for their families. I truly take pride in helping the communities that are often overlooked and mistreated. People may forget what you say but they will never forget how you have made them feel so we make sure everyone feels loved and supported each time there in our presence.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Dedication, commitment, consistency, resilience, and impact is what keep my agency with a good reputation within the industry. My team and I ensure the families are provided effective resources and education that will help them sustain healthier lifestyles. It is my agency’s duty to do exactly what we have set forth to do. I do believe that good partnerships play a major role in our accreditation for state and government referrals for potential mentees. ONFIYA has been blessed to have several team members that give their time willingly without being compensated with a heart to really have an impact on our participants.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It is best to understand the wants and needs of the population you are serving. Being transparent with my youth and their families give them a space to thrive in without judgement. It is a priority for me to actively engage with my participants and audiences during every encounter. One of the things that has helped me the most was creating an outstanding website that’s appealing to the eye and gives great content for informational purposes. Throughout the years building transparent and authentic relationships with families and potential participants has caused an influx of more participants, volunteers, and staff. It’s best to keep records of all participants for events, workshops, and seminars so that you can keep track of the success, keep in contact with the families, and send out resourceful information to keep them connected to us. My team and I take the time to promote the organization daily to keep fresh content before the eyes of our potential participants, volunteers, staff, and families we serve.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onfiyaagency.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/onfiya_m_inc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/O.N.F.I.Y.A.Agency
• Linkedin: O.N.F.I.Y.A. Agency, Inc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnfiyaMinc
• Youtube: ONFIYA Agency

Image Credits
Austin Best