Today we’d like to introduce you to Brit Morris. Them and their team share their story with us below:
During the Pandemic, people were stuck in their homes, some losing their jobs, others obligated to leave home to work so-called essential jobs (e.g., healthcare workers, first responders, etc.). But all were stressed and riddled with anxiety due to unprecedented uncertainties. Brit Morris, a patrol Sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, and Lorenzo Young, an I.T. executive for a clinical mental health service provider first hand the declining mental state of Angelenos. Young, who had been mentored by Morris’s father since age 14, had numerous discussions about how their mental health was deteriorating even though they were still functioning and productive.
“I felt as though I was losing my mind increasingly by the day,” Morris recounts. “I also felt that if I were more equipped to handle a personal crisis, as opposed to the daily third party emergencies I responded to in my day job, then I could cope and bounce back faster from my mini breakdowns.”
Morris and Young believed other people may have been having the same experiences. “There are many people, who experience mental health crises every day around the world,” said Young. “There are countless others, though, who are not in crisis, but still need extra mental health and social support and resources to prevent a crisis from occurring.”
The result was The Morris-Young Legacy House, Inc. (MY Legacy House), a 501(c)(3) federal nonprofit organization that provides holistic mental health and social services. “Our feet are in Los Angeles, but our reach extends around the world,” said Morris. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit is 80% virtual as it hosts the majority of its programming online and on social media.
“We take the holistic approach to mental health,” explained Young. “We believe mentorship, empowerment, and life skills help boost self-awareness, self-esteem, confidence, and accountability.”
The founders developed a free 52-week life skills curriculum aimed at boosting money management, problem-solving, interpersonal, and communication skills among others to level out participants’ ability to deal with everyday life even when they are not in crisis.
In addition to the life skills course, every participant is paired with an adult peer mentor (the programs are for age 18+), who sticks with the participant for a year as they set and achieve a goal, overcome an obstacle, or just need an accountability partner to help get and keep their life on track. Each participant also receives one year of free therapy from our mental health service provider partners and free personal fitness training from nationally certified trainers.
Since 2020, MY Legacy House has launched its Instagram Live sessions featuring staffed mentors and special guests who discuss life skills with the organization’s followers and staff. It’s a warm and welcoming safe space to fellowship, laugh, and explore life and mental health resources provided by the insight of other community members.
Follow MY Legacy House on IG: @MY_LegacyHouse_LA
“As a result,” Morris added, “mental health tends to balance out.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road to MY Legacy House hasn’t been the smoothest. In its first year, the nonprofit was awarded a community development grant for $200,000. Unfortunately, due to timing delays and other obstacles, the grant was never disbursed. “We have been relying on the generosity of our early donors, called ‘Kinsmen’,” Morris described. Fundraising is a tricky puzzle to solve, but the founders are hopeful and optimistic that the organization will get funded and their programs will be expanded.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Morris and Young have invested in themselves to prepare to run their organization in the most efficient way. Morris has earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in Journalism, Mass Communication, Public Relations, and English from San Jose State University; she earned a Master of Science degree in Business Development and Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne; and she received her Juris Doctorate from Purdue University (Global). She has been with the LAPD for over 15 years.
Young is the Chief Information Officer at Southern California Health and Rehabilitation (SCHARP), a Black-Owned nonprofit organization that provides mental health and rehabilitation services to vulnerable ethnic minority populations in Southern California. he is also the Founder and CEO of Technology SYstem Partners, providing organizations with solutions to their business’s technological needs.
The founders utilize their strengths and continue to hone their personal and professional skills to offer the best programming and resources to their clients.
How do you think about luck?
“Luck has nothing to do with it,” said Morris. “Everything is about Love, timing, relationships, discipline, and God.”
“We are doing our best to be obedient and to serve,” Young added.
The founders continue to be faithful to their calling and to serving their communities.
Pricing:
- All programs are FREE
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mylegacyhouse.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my_legacyhouse_la
