Today we’d like to introduce you to Quiana Malone.
Hi Quiana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
1stepup Inc. was started in May of 2015, this organization was birthed from a place of need, I created this org.
While I was 5 years in running from the law, at this point, I had already been a 4x convicted felon working on my 5th prior to that I was released from a stint in 2010 and had found it very hard to get employment for 3 years straight, during that time I was homeless, didn’t have my son, living from pillar to post, and just very lost, it was 2014 when I finally caught a break, got a job at Golden Corral making $8 with no car and the job was on the other side of town.
I’ve always been a hustler so it was Nothing but it added to the food stamps I was using to sell dinners and the hair I was doing.
It took me about a month before I saved up enough to finally get a place, from there I was able to get another job at Applebee’s working overnight, mind I had no car so I was working 2 jobs one from 9 am-4 pm and then from 6 pm to 2 am with that being said the bus didn’t run overnight, so I would sleep there until the morning go home get my son dressed on his bus and then to another bus I did this for months while on the run leading up to the founding of 1stepup Inc.
From this place to this one, I have been helping women like me (formerly incarcerated and stuck from a traumatic experience) get the place I am now, I am currently a Sr. Manager for Color of Change, 2x Published Author, Harvard Alum, Cert Life Coach, and Public Speaker.
In March 2020, I founded the Dear Black Girl space for all Black Women. We were created to be the “Stepping Stone that makes All Mile Stones Achievable.”
As you know, we’re big fans of 1StepUp Inc./Dear Black Girl. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
1 step Up Inc- 1StepUp is a mentoring program that is dedicated to being a voice for the disenfranchised in Duval County that offers services that include but are not limited to The Aid in Restoration and Stabilization of the Ex-Offenders, and family advocacy.
Dear Black Girl- DBG is designed to promote self-development, it’s a program dedicated to helping Black women become their best selves and operate in the fullness they were created to. We deal with the healing of past hurts, traumas, and adversities that may have halted or hindered us in the past, causing us to not operate fully in our work, social, and home life.
We operate off of 3 key elements stability, support, and success! Our mission is to get you stabilized in whatever problem area, then support you to whatever success looks like to you! We do this by first welcoming you into a space where you will connect and build with other women
What matters most to you?
My motto is “Nothing About Me, Without Me” What matters most to me is being the change I desire to see, and always being available to be the help for someone else that I was unable to get.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected] | [email protected]
- Website: www.1stepupjax.org | www.officialdearblackgirl.com
- Instagram: @dearblackgirl_1
- Facebook: Dear Black Girl
- Twitter: @1stepup
Image Credits
Ashley Williams of Girl Boss Branded Photography
