We were lucky to catch up with Renae Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Renae thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.
I have experienced a U-Turn in my professional career. As a quiet, sweet girl, raised in a small town of Greenwood, South Carolina I imagined my life to be much different. I thought I would be a teacher. I remember lining my dolls up against the bed and passing out papers to each of them. My heart to help others helped me realize my dreams.
The dream has expanded so much. My nonprofit offers mental health and support services to low-income students in high needs school districts. In the fall we will be opening a mental health clinic in the historic Acres Homes neighborhood, of Houston, Texas. This area was once considered to be the South’s largest unincorporated African American community.
Who would have thought, teaching special needs children would lead me down the pathway of opening a mental health clinic in one of the largest cities in the United States.
Renae, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As the founder of OnPurpose so much of its history is tied to my story. I was inspired by overcoming the challenges of inequality, domestic violence, sexual assault, and long-term poverty. As a success story of the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, the Kiwanis Builder’s Club, NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympic (ACT-SO) and Baptist and Educational Missionary Convention and Sexual Trauma therapy programs, I became driven to bring even greater success and opportunity to struggling families.
I have over 20 years of experience in mental health and community development. My experience ranges from working in schools, residential treatment, and psychiatric care facilities to developing and soliciting funding for multi-million-dollar health and human service programs.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to use my experience to support the healing of trauma. Specifically, associated with the adverse effects of racial discrimination and poverty.
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
Like most minorities, funding was challenging for me. What most people fail to realize, having a new nonprofit is just like having “limited credit history”. No matter how good the grant is or how heartfelt your mission is, there are not many that will trust you with their money.
I boot-strapped my nonprofit organization for six years before I received my first grant in 2017. That grant led to others however I am still struggling to make a name for myself in order to increase our capacity to serve others.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As a poor Black female growing up in the care of a mentally ill parent, my life was filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and vigilance. It was not unusual for my sister and I to be without a hot meal, or consistent place to live. Despite my challenging up-bringing, I am grateful for two significant experiences that helped me to become resilient; 1) I became the first person in my family to obtain a Bachelors’ and Masters’ degree; and 2) I was blessed to participate in nonprofit programs and faith-based activities. Without my faith, and these two experiences, I know I would not be the person I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.onpurpose.life
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onpurpose.life/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onpurpose.enrichment/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onpurpose-life
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnPurpose_life
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqnLD6sRCQGtT0gE2LZ-lA
Image Credits
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