Meet Jamie Allen of Empowering Brothers, Inc. in Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Allen.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got my start in Public Health at an agency in Savannah, Georgia called My Brothaz H.O.M.E. My role at that agency was two-fold. I began by scheduling appointments and soon after that, I picked up skills on how to conduct HIV and STI Testing. I shadowed my now, a good friend and mentor Mr. Mark Douglas for years. He took time out of his day to show me the ropes of my soon to be a career path. From there, I was afforded the opportunity to become apart of an organization called National Youth Pride Services. During my time at National Youth Pride Services, I was able to pick up skills on grassroots fundraising, speaking in front of an audience, social justice issues and of course, brush up on my Public Health background. I was a member of NYPS (National Youth Pride Services) for about three years until I decided to run for a Leadership Position on a national platform and I ended up serving at Vice President. Upon completing my term at NYPS, one of my friends told me about this campaign that he was apart of called #SpeakOutHIV. At first, I was a little hesitant because and quite frankly, intimidated. Little did I know, this campaign would be the thing that I needed to catapult me in the direction I was looking for and would also completely change my life forever. Because of #SpeakOutHIV and the Kaiser Family Foundation, I have been able to travel the world, speak to leaders on issues that affect my community, and be allowed a platform to where my voice is heard. Through my work with #SpeakoutHIV and other avenues such as being a member of my Fraternity, Delta Phi Upsilon Fraternity, Inc. I have been giving tools that I need to start the organization I founded almost two years ago.

Has it been a smooth road?
Absolutely not! I had no idea what I was walking into prior to starting Empowering Brothers. I have had managerial experience before and surely I oversaw projects for different agencies in the past but this was completely different. One of the huggest struggles that I battled with rededicating myself to do with this every day. There is an extreme amount of effort that is put into running an organization on a daily basis. Of course, I love that work that I do but there is a phrase in my line of work called “Burnout” and please believe me when I say the burnout is real! Another struggle that I was faced with along the way is the internal feeling of not having enough support.

Yes, I have my Board of Directors (who are amazing) but I felt that initially starting out that this would take off almost immediately… and that wasn’t the case lol. One final struggle that I will name is gaining Community Partners. As a new organization is crucial that you obtain partnerships from other community organizations, particularly older organizations because they often times have a broader reach within the community.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Empowering Brothers, Inc. is an organization dedicated to empowering gay and bisexual men of color to live healthy in every aspect of their lives. We strive to provide a safe space for men for black gay men where they can foster personal and professional relationships. Often times some nonprofit organizations focus solely on one issue. Empowering Brothers hones in on the holistic health and wellness of black same gender loving men and that’s what we believe sets us aside from traditional nonprofit organizations. As a company, we are most proud of our overall growth. Since our inception, we have created meaningful programs to effectively serve our community, gained community partners, fostered a relationship with community members and we are JUST getting started,

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe our city is the perfect place for organizations like mine. Atlanta needs more organizations that pride themselves on truly serving our community. For anyone that is thinking about starting an organization here, I say do it. My biggest advice would be to conduct a needs assessment and that could give you an idea of what is exactly needed in your community.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 678 744 4249
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweringbrothersinc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/EmpoweringBrothersInc

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