Our Story
The Brave Effect, a unique organization, was established with a distinct mission to provide support for families as they navigate life’s challenges and address the often-concealed traumas that may impede their ability to achieve their full potential. The vision of The Brave Effect emphasizes the values of mutual support, forgiveness, and compassion. It recognizes the significance of individual talents, resilience, and the deliberate choice to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Founder Joe Jenkins made a deliberate decision to abandon the lifestyle that led to his imprisonment, which cost him over 13 years of his life. This initial decision marked the beginning of a challenging journey, as he faced significant obstacles, including estrangement from family members and the need to confront deep-seated trauma originating from his childhood. Mr. Jenkins recognized the need to learn to articulate boundaries, morals, and principles for sustaining a healthy lifestyle. He engaged in difficult conversations with his mother about the generational survival skills she had imparted to him, which often emphasized survival at all costs and resulted in additional trauma. Furthermore, he had to come to terms with the inability to reclaim the time lost with his children, acknowledging that his survival mentality had removed him from their lives for over 13 years, forcing them to navigate life independently. In addition, Mr. Jenkins understood the importance of mastering professional etiquette within the workforce and his community. He also sought to redefine his role as a husband and an upstanding citizen in contemporary society, regardless of his past challenges.
The Brave Effect initially operated as a reentry organization. However, as we expanded our services in response to the needs of individuals reentering society, we observed a significant increase in demand for one-on-one coaching. This demand became particularly evident through our technology classes, which we offer in partnership with Tech Goes Home. Our primary focus has consistently been on households, making it challenging to exclude those impacted by justice-involved family members. We reached a juncture wherein inquiries arose regarding whether individuals needed to have been incarcerated to access the services provided by The Brave Effect. This realization indicated that the individuals we serve are increasingly interested in lifestyle development. Having already advocated for mental health, we recognized the necessity of developing a model that encompasses mental health support, coaching, and community cultivation. It became clear to us that genuine change and assistance stem from lifestyle development. Consequently, we acknowledged our evolution into a lifestyle organization. To effectively lead lifestyle development, Joe recognized the imperative of embodying these principles himself first, utilizing every available resource from the Power 4 Effect before imparting these lessons to others.
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The Power 4 Effect represents a continuous cycle of life skills and resources that are established and developed to assist those who desire transformative lives and are empowered to take hold of their destiny and reach their fullest potential. Through this model, the fight of recidivism is at the forefront while the internal components of one attempting to be freed from systemic cycles are addressed at each level and transition to a complete cycle.
