Inspiring Conversations with Stephanie of A Brighter Day Resources

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a born and raised Los Angeles native , who comes from very humble beginnings. Being raised by my disabled & single mother, there often wasn’t much left after the bills were paid, many times we didn’t even have enough to cover our basic needs. As I grew older, my work ethic strengthened and learned how to make something out of nothing. I used to take our monthly food stamp money, buy candies at the local market and sell them door to door in our apartment complex. I would then give the money to my mom and tell her it was to help pay the utilities, I killed me to see my mother stress monthly over bills, so those worries also became my own. I knew we needed actual money and that the food stamps could only go so far. When I entered the work field I stumbled amongst elderly care which also led to hospice, over 16 years all the individuals that I helped care for, all left their imprints on me, each one teaching me something about life & myself. As my stability grew, I felt a huge responsibility to help those who are without, as much as I could, as often as I could.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Life has never been easy, nor has anything been handed. Unfortunately and fortunately , it is my personal struggles and lived experiences that made me want to help on a bigger level, I just wanted to make people feel seen and heard , which eventually led to starting a non-profit that helps individuals facing hardships. Having walked many roads of adversities, I have found strength and resilience and wanted to share the tools that helped me along the way. As far as struggles within the non-profit , I see them more as personal and professional development. We had no idea what came with starting a non-profit we just knew we wanted to help. We learned quickly in order to further our outreach, we needed to understand what it takes to run a business. Strategies, systems, networking and community engagement will always be our main focuses of improvement.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a non-profit organization that helps those facing hardships in our underserved communities, by assisting individuals with with resource navigation, advocacy and peer support. Helping all backgrounds and walks of life.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
There is no perfect time or way to start, just start! You can perfect things along the way. Lean into community, mentors and those that you can learn from as often as possible. I also think it is important to remember why you started your passion project to begin with, because when you are in the thick of it , (and you will be in the thick of it) the dream, vision and passion can help carry you through. I personally am practicing being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abrighterdayresourcesenter.com
• Instagram: abrighterdayresources
• Facebook: a brighter day resource center
• Yelp: a brighter day resource center