You Are More Than History
2014
Our founder began to do public speaking engagements for Prevent Child Abuse NJ (PCANJ) as a survivor-leader and My Life My Choice curriculum facilitator; a curriculum that focuses on the prevention of exploitation and domestic trafficking for girls in schools, group homes, juvenile justice facilities and community-based agencies.
The idea of You Are More Than Inc. started after being interviewed (by her now wife) for a paper on survivor leadership within the trafficking sector.
When describing her current job as the Survivor Leadership Coordinator for an organization in NYC, Ashante stated: “In five years I want to start my own organization, that focuses on empowering survivors of trafficking and exploitation.
2015
“I want survivors to know that they are worth more than how the world has made us feel.” - Ashante, Founder & Executive Director
“When your dreams are bigger than the places
you find yourself in,
sometimes you need to seek out your
own reminders that there is more.
― Elaine Welteroth
2015 - 2018
Our founder continued to do prevention work, advocacy and direct service work for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking throughout the state of NJ and NYC.
During this time she focused on earning her Masters in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness with a particular focus on service provisions for LGBTQ+ folx and survivors of sexual violence.
In January 2020, our founder sat down with her closest friends and expressed a desire to put her years long plans into motion of starting a survivor-led nonprofit that shifted the narrative for survivors within the mental health, education and financial wellbeing sector for survivors of exploitation and domestic trafficking.