To truly understand our mission, I’d like to share a little bit of my “ACE” story.

I was born in New York City, during a time period when the city was ravaged by what is known today as the “crack epidemic.” My mother struggled with addiction to crack cocaine, and my father battled addiction as well — to both drugs and alcohol. When I was 6 months old, my great-grandmother took me away from my mother in an effort to give her a chance at recovery, but sadly, she never stopped using drugs. In 1992, she was found murdered behind a public school, when I was just seven years old. One year after that, my father died after a 30-day stay in the hospital. Four years later, when I was 12 years old, my maternal grandmother, whom I dearly loved, died from pancreatic cancer. My childhood memories are filled with visiting her at the hospital, only not being allowed to see her because of my age. When I finally did see her, my mind went into shock because, physically, she had wasted away. I remember her calling my name… and just standing there, frozen, because I didn’t understand what was going on. A few weeks later, I woke up overhearing my great-grandmother talking on the phone, saying that her daughter had just died in the hospital. I was devastated - My “GJ” was gone. Some years later, in 2010, a year after I graduated from nursing school, my grandfather, who helped raise me, died from a cardiac arrest on his front doorstep. I remember being notified at work and being so stunned that my boss kindly sent me home right away.

Despite the stormy days of my childhood, there were always rays of sunshine in my life—people whose love, warmth, and stability helped me feel loved and know that my life had value. My brightest “ray” of sunshine was my great-grandmother, Mrs. Gladys Ward, who, as I mentioned, took me in when I was just six months old. She was and will always be the love of my life. With her, my core memories are filled with so much love and nurturing - I remember her playing hide and go seek with me at the age of 70, I being the age of 4. I remember her softly giggling from behind a closed door, laughing because she knew I couldn’t find her hiding from me in the closet. She was indeed my shining light. I knew she loved me, just by the way she looked at me, and with her, I always felt safe. I lived with her my entire life, until she passed away from breast cancer in 2021, at the age of 103. Her unwavering love grounded me and made all the pain and loss I had experienced in life… endurable.

The greatest challenge of my life occurred, however, when my great-grandmother passed away in 2021- that is what brings you and I here. When she died, I felt a pain I had never experienced before. It felt like the ground beneath me gave way. Old, unprocessed grief came rushing to my mind, and I didn’t understand what was happening to me -I felt so much panic, even though I was in a safe place. During that time, painful memories of my childhood resurfaced, and this resulted in me needing to seek therapy. I’ll never forget the kindness of the doctor who initially cared for me. The doctor embraced me gently and said, “I was raised by my grandmother too. I understand what she meant to you.” That night I received the best medical care I could ever receive- compassion. Later, another doctor would explain to me: “She protected you from everything that could hurt you.” Those words resonated deeply with me. I was processing trauma that I didn’t even realize I had. A few months later, I was diagnosed with “Complicated Grief”- related to childhood events.

In the weeks that followed, I began to learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — and the lasting emotional, mental, and even physical effects trauma can have on a child’s development and lifelong well-being. As a registered nurse, this touched me deeply - understanding how trauma in childhood can have ripple effects across a lifetime. I learned that trauma can wound the body, just as profoundly as it can wound one’s soul. Yes, as coined by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, “the body keeps the score.”

That discovery — and the deep reflection that followed — led me to form Help Me Sprout, Inc, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children who have experienced trauma or adversity. Our goal is simple but powerful: to be a ray of sunshine in a child’s life, so that even in the darkest of circumstances, they have the opportunity to heal, grow, and sprout into their full potential. Through education, we hope to help mitigate the damaging long-term effects associated with ACEs. We also hope to help children build nurturing relationships through meaningful engagement within the community. From personal experience, I understand how lifesaving even one nurturing relationship can be. Because of my great-grandmother’s love, I’ve been able to survive my darkest days, even after she died. The rays of sunshine she shone on me still shine brightly in my heart. That light motivates me to pay it forward and try my best to help others. Additionally, the support I’ve received from the other beautiful people in my life, such as encouraging teachers, friends, members of my faith community, and many, many others, continues to help me keep going, even on the days when my losses feel too heavy to bear. It is the goal of Help Me Sprout to help others keep going too.

Our Board of Directors is made up of four beautiful people, including two stay-at-home moms raising children ages 5-12. Our volunteers include a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner student and another stay-at-home mom, who is raising two beautiful boys, ages 6 & 7 - both on the autism spectrum. Our board and volunteers live in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, New York & New Jersey. I currently serve as President of Help Me Sprout, am employed as a registered nurse, and am also a Doctor of Nursing Practice student at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ. We believe our diverse backgrounds as volunteers will help us make the greatest possible impact in helping children grow and sprout.

In addition to supporting the child, we endeavor to support the caregiver - who may feel overwhelmed or unprepared on exactly how to help a traumatized child. We want you to know that we see you, even when you feel all alone and unseen.

We ask that you check back in with us regularly, as we develop new programs and continue adding resources to help caregivers to this website. To all the beautiful people who are doing their best to raise a traumatized child, and especially a child that is not your own, - We salute you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The world needs more people like you.