Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexia Perry.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I truly believe you don’t have a testimony without a test because a lot of my life wasn’t a glamorous upbringing but I learned so much through the many trials I faced. Rewind back to high school where my mother was addicted to drugs, my parents were getting a divorce, my Dad was becoming abusive, and I was having to work two jobs to support myself at 16 years old. I ended up being “homeless” I had no permanent residence but was able to stay with friends for a little over a year until a local family took me in to live with them until it was time for me to go to college.
Now, I wasn’t “homeless” as the in on the streets. A lot of people don’t know that most cities categorize their homelessness statistics into whether they couch hop, whether they stay at a motel/hotel if they live on the streets, or in a homeless shelter.
Nonetheless, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for so-called “outcasts” the ones that society ignores or doesn’t like to address. I’ve always felt like God gave me the ability to see the potential in those people.
Because I’ve just always had this place in my heart for the houseless community, I volunteered with shelters often and in 2016, I found myself meeting a woman who was living in a houseless shelter with her family, she worked hard to gain her CNA license online, she locked down an interview but refused to go. No one could understand why she would work so hard to make a change in her life and then not go to the interview, later I found out she had been previously mocked in an interview on her hygiene habits and for her clothes and she didn’t want to go through that again.
I convinced my friend to come and do her makeup and hair, I got her some outfits for her interview, hygiene items, and a little encouragement she found the confidence to go to the interview and later she went on to secure the job. After that happened, a few others found out about what we were doing and eventually shelters reached out to me to host events where we would provide haircuts, makeup tutorials, teaching basic hygiene habits, providing clothing and hygiene items.
I have no experience in the hair, or beauty industry and at the time, all I had was a Pinterest to best figure out fashion. Because I had no experience I just messaged people on social media who did hair, makeup, and were fashion savvy, who exuberated confidence to teach others. It was hard to convince people because we weren’t an official organization, I had never hosted an event like that before but I just knew it would all come together for the residents of the shelter. I’m happy to say our first ever event was such a success shortly after we became an official organization a week later!
My favorite memory is a woman who cried in thankfulness because she had never felt so loved by strangers before. She felt like she got to start over as a domestic violence survivor and with her fresh new look, it encouraged her fresh new start in life.
About one year later, we became a 501c3 nonprofit, we host 1 event per month with different groups and individuals, we have our own storage space for all our donations we get in weekly, we have our own mobile boutique that just launched in January of 2019, and our team has grown to 13 women who run our planning committee along with over 150 volunteers.
The interesting part about our nonprofit is that we’re 100% volunteer ran. Not one person receives pay and all 13 women who run it work full time, have children, etc. My favorite quote was recently introduced to me by my friend Meiko and it perfectly fit us as an organization. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead
That’s us, we are a small group of strong women who decided we want to impact peoples lives in our south Florida community and til this day we have served over 350 people, providing over 1600+ items of clothing, and hundreds of hygiene items in just two years!
I hope that if anything comes from this article it’s that people of all ages get the courage to work to make a change in your local community because too often we let fear tell us we can’t do it. Take a step towards whatever cause your heart is close to, you don’t have to start a nonprofit to make a difference, just get involved, make time for others, host a Facebook Fundraiser, host a park clean-up, any time spent to impact others is never wasted!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely not, as a 25-year-old woman who founded a nonprofit the Nonprofit world can be very tough. Many nonprofits are national organizations with millions of dollars and people running these organizations are 50 years old and up. I’m still in the process of trying to convince and change our local nonprofits here to see with new eyes in our new world in 2019. Many are stuck in old habits and ways and that’s alright, but fight for what you know to be right! Don’t give up just because others don’t agree. You’ve got to learn to be confident in what you stand for otherwise others will never be able to stand for it alongside you.
I’ve had so many events feel like they were falling apart at the seems and then by the end it all worked out as it should. I’ve had countless bathroom cries, and breakdowns trying to launch this nonprofit. For those women in business or nonprofit worlds, my advice is let go of the need to control everything, let go of that chaotic feeling that everything is urgent. Your calling and purpose in life will always come with trails because if it were easy anyone would do it. Remember you’re why on those tough days.
Stay confident in your purpose here, take your rest days and self-care days seriously because if you aren’t taking care of you, you can’t effectively impact others the way you were supposed to. Reach out to your local girl gang, church, coffee shop, just find a community somewhere because you shouldn’t do this journey alone. It’s better to do life together!
Lastly don’t give up because things aren’t working out, if that were the case, I would have quit every other day. I work full time as Director for a church on the south side, while running this nonprofit on my days off. My life is less than glamorous most days, but I’m learning to find the balance. You can’t run a business solely based on feeling and passion because that runs out some days. Learn your why behind what you want to do, and go back to that place when you have a long day and want to quit. Keep going! So many women believe in you! I believe in you!
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I work full time as a Director for a church on the south side, that’s my 9-5 job. My job outside of that is the founder of Trusting The Process. Our nonprofit exists to empower, equip, and build confidence in our houseless, low-income and at-risk communities. We want to shift perspectives on these communities. It’s a bit of a taboo in our community, so we want to start the conversations and get young people involved!
We provide haircuts, makeup tutorials, clothing, hygiene services, and hygiene items via our mobile boutique initiative. This is essentially a mobile trailer that we fill up with clothing, shoes, accessories and hygiene items to bring to the people and communities who need it most.
We are most proud of the women who have stepped up to make this organization what it is today because its no easy job running a nonprofit on the side.
We are most known for our transformations on the houseless, low-income and at-risk communities and for working together with other nonprofits instead of competing against them.
What sets us apart is instead of thinking that the communities we serve deserve the minimum, we strive to provide them the maximum for them. Too often, those who serve the houseless, low-income and at-risk communities just need a little food and some shelter and some clothing couldn’t be more wrong. These people need a sense of dignity and belonging, they need confidence, empowerment, and encouragement!
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
Yes! Check the first prompt! Mainly having to grow up by age 16 with one parent addicted to drugs and the other becoming abusive, making the decision to move out at such a young age so that I wouldn’t get caught in the cycle of that lifestyle, with two full-time jobs, school, sports, and living arrangements I knew struggle, I knew trials, I knew to overcome, I knew life change!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.trustingtheprocessfl.com
- Email: trustingtheprocessfl@gmail.com
- Instagram: @trustingtheprocessfl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trustingtheprocessfl/
Image Credit:
Alexis Brasseur
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
