Today we’d like to introduce you to Cori Hill, Tiana Johnson-Blanton, and Wanda Hudson.
Cori, Tiana, and Wanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 2020, we began discussing our shared vision for wellness in the Black community. At the same time, we were each establishing individual private practices alongside several other Black therapists in Dallas doing the same and began to form a community of support. We all came together to better ensure the success of all, including prospective clients who could receive immediate referrals without combing through pages of therapist directories or cold-calling therapists. Unofficially, this group, which has now grown to dozens of clinicians, was our first program. Still an unnamed dream and unfounded organization at the time, we simply referred to the initiative as “The Collective.” Soon after, we were connected with Jade Burrowes, a media personality and community leader known as “Lady Jade.” Jade, founder of the youth-serving non-profit Project 16, partnered with us to address a growing need for mental health services for young Black and Brown teens in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area. This ultimately led to the birth and launch of Time to Talk, a program that provides free therapy services to DFW teens and fairly compensates the therapists providing services. (We are excited to announce that our partnership continues, and the program will open for the fourth year in January 2024.)
With the introduction of Time to Talk to the Community also came the official establishment of Kinnect Wellness Network, Incorporated, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. “Kinnect,” which admittedly took us forever to name (shoutout to Tiana), is a combination of the words “kinship” and “connection,” speaking to our mission for increasing wellness for marginalized racial and ethnic groups as well as our values of community and collaboration.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Rewarding? Yes. Smooth? No. As a non-profit organization, securing funding is one of our primary challenges. Our goal is to expand our network and establish connections with individuals and community organizations who share our passion, mission, and values. We also are actively seeking opportunities to secure grant funding and enhance our financial sustainability.
Balancing time has presented a substantial challenge for us as well. As stated earlier, we are individually accountable for the management and growth of three distinct and expanding group practices, in addition to other businesses we run. During the initial phases of Kinnect’s development, we also held full-time or part-time positions outside our entrepreneurial pursuits. Combined with our commitment to our families and our own self-care, this reality-imposed constraints on the amount of time we could allocate to building and growing Kinnect Wellness Network.
We are now embarking on a new phase in our organization’s journey. We have successfully established a dedicated board of directors who are ready to help us continue to develop and to address challenges of funding and time. Furthermore, we are grateful for our team of volunteers who are eager to contribute in any capacity required to support our shared mission. The growth of our internal community helps move us closer to achieving our goals and expanding a strong and committed network.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kinnect Wellness Network?
We are proud to say that through our Time to Talk partnership, we have helped provide a total of 313 free therapy sessions to over 40 teens in the community. In alignment with our values of equity for clinicians, the contracted therapists in our network were paid a reasonable fee per session for their services. The cost to run the first three phases of our program has totaled $36,140 financially and countless hours of dedicated time. In the near future, we will collaborate with other institutions and organizations to expand the free therapy services to other populations while still fairly compensating our contracted licensed therapists. Although our current focus is mental health, our goal is to make an impact on the overall wellness of black and brown communities. We have some other initiatives underway as well and cannot wait to announce them to the community.
Currently, we are most known for our dedication to increasing access to mental health services and our commitment to the success of clinicians through community support. We’re “kinnecting” us to us. Care for the community. Care for clinicians. Collective growth and healing.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Community is what we are all about, so there are so many supporters we have had along the way, including our parents, spouses, friends, and colleagues. They’ve donated funds, time, food, and endless encouragement along the way. We have to give a special shout-out to Doug, Benny, Carolyn, and Sharisse!
One person we consider an important part of our history is Kelleigh Nicholas. Kelleigh, now a fully licensed professional counselor, was completing her school internship when she first connected with Cori over social media. It became clear that they shared values of community, collaboration, and a real sense of “I want to see you win, sis!” Weeks later, this was exemplified when Kelleigh introduced Cori and Jade (which ultimately led to the Time to Talk program, as stated before).
We are also grateful for Jade and our collaboration over the last three years. She embodies our mission and values in the community and behind closed doors. As our first partner, her passion and support encouraged us to continue to grow during a time we were dedicated but also exhausted. Similarly, we have to recognize Jentrelle “Trelle” Moore, another licensed therapist who has been a part of the Time to Talk program for two years. Beyond this role, she voluntarily raised a significant amount of funding for Kinnect in 2022. We honored her as our Donor of the Year, but she is so much more than that, often sending us opportunities and always willing to help.
We also want to thank the therapists who have participated in Time to Talk the last two phases, allowing us to expand, as well as the generous donors who help to support our operations, initiatives, and development.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://kinnectwellness.org
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/kinnectwell
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/kinnectwell
