Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jasmine Ellis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jasmine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

Throughout an 11-year career, Major League Baseball player Dock Ellis became an all-star and world champion. After his retirement in 1978, he embraced a life of sobriety. He advocated for the rights of fellow players and African Americans, helped others in their recovery journey, and worked to rehabilitate incarcerated minorities in Pennsylvania. Dock and his colleagues also launched the Black Athletes Foundation for Sickle Cell Research.

Today, his daughter Jasmine, carries on his legacy bringing her extensive experience in victim advocacy to lead a team of dedicated volunteers and save the lives of endangered individuals in the minority community. The Dock Ellis Foundation expands awareness and improves the effectiveness in response to cases of minority missing persons and victims of violence.

The Dock Ellis Foundation responds to each report of a missing person with an investigation, awareness campaign, search, placement and advocacy at no charge to families. Our work offers reassurance and hope for those reporting missing person cases that their case will receive an adequate response. We give peace of mind to a community that is otherwise neglected when lives are most at stake.

Despite comprising only 14% of the U.S. population, Black Americans account for 36% of missing person cases (FBI). Hispanic Americans are also disproportionately affected by missing person cases which go widely under-reported (Barron Lopez). Unfortunately, media bias and inadequate law enforcement response have perpetuated systemic racial inequities leaving minority communities at greater risk.

Jasmine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The Dock Ellis Foundation addresses these systemic problems by providing timely awareness, investigation, and location of minority missing persons, returning them to safety when possible. We work with families to support them while assisting with search and rescue. We reunite families and loved ones. We offer a means of advocacy and hope for minority communities that regularly are underserved by law enforcement and media coverage.

In 2017 Jasmine Ellis made a commitment to giving everything she had financially and mentally to the Dock Ellis Foundation.

Jasmine Ellis was seeing young women and children vanishing at an alarming rate while working in the field of shelters and Safe-houses. Most importantly as a survivor, I didn’t feel the programs being offered were made for young women that looked like me.

Jasmine Ellis was raised by amazing parents but it didn’t save her from the ugly underworld. With her knowledge of the streets, over 20 years of victim services and a strong mother Dock Ellis Foundation was created and is not working on a National level to serve minority communities everywhere.

Additionally, Dock Ellis Foundation aims to reduce related social problems, such as child abuse, sexual assault, substance abuse and Domestic Violence.

One in every three homeless young people are trafficked within 48 hours of being on the street. Per the FBI, 59 percent of all juvenile prostitution arrests involve African Americans. As a brown girl knowing what it’s like to be in the streets and having friends forced into prostitution, Jasmine wanted to create an organization where the stories of survivors looked like us.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

In 2022 is when Dock Ellis Foundation was recognized as a National organization.

Much of what we do here is 100% out of our own pockets! Funding has not been easy and with all the amazing work the Dock Ellis Foundation continues to do it still remains a huge concern. Despite the name of the organization being in honor of Dock Ellis. Jasmine Ellis and her mother Hjordis Ellis risk many days making drastic decision if they will be able to keep the doors open.

“We know families needed us, minorities are being killed at an alarming rate, sometime you have to sacrifice for the greater good”

We are thankful for the community whose donations allow us to continue our mission.

The Dock Ellis Foundation runs a 24-hour hotline to assist families of minority missing persons and victims of human trafficking.

Our foundation is a boot on the ground organization, when a victim contacts us, we immediately assist with clothes, food and we escort the victim to receive medical care if needed and relocation assistance.

Thankfully with amazing partnerships and community donations The Dock Ellis Foundation is able to provides temporary housing to victims or assist with relocating to a safe house.

Today, over 500 victims around the country have benefited from services provided by The Dock Ellis Foundation which include, but are not limited to: media awareness, missing person assistance, search and rescue support, skills development, education/employment assistance, crisis intervention, safety planning, application assistance, appointment accompaniment, and court/trial preparation/assistance.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Jasmine Ellis reminders herself daily of the struggles her father had and how his work after baseball made her into the women she is today!

Dock Ellis was naturally rebellious and outspoken, at one point suffered from addiction and at times he did channel those qualities into laudable efforts. He often spoke out about racial injustice, both in and out of the game. And in the early 1970s, he regularly visited Pittsburgh’s Western Penitentiary, which featured an inmate population that was 70 percent Black. Ellis offered advice to inmates while also advocating for prison reform, where he felt some prisoners were being treated like they were in “a concentration camp.”

He committed himself to making a change and did his best to make amends – by helping younger generations learn from his failures. He did that for roughly 25 years, or about 40 percent of his life.

Dock Ellis found his way and we will continue to find ours.

Contact Info:

• Website: Dockellisfoundation.com
• Instagram: dockellisfoundation
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeNowBringThemHome?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: Jasmine Ellis

Image Credits
Clemente Museum