Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Harrison.
Hi Nicole, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The BrendaBear Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to honor the life and legacy of the Late Brenda Jean Harrison-Jones—an educator, caregiver, and advocate who spent 45 years serving children, youth with disabilities, and the broader community. Inspired by her painful experiences of medical neglect and racial bias in healthcare, our Foundation addresses the systemic disparities that impact how African American patients—especially women, children, and elders—are treated for chronic pain.
Through advocacy, education, and community-based healing, we challenge the legacy of racism in medicine and amplify the voices of those living with chronic pain.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been very difficult and challenging to against an entire systemic crisis in healthcare. There were many doors that were closed before we even knocked. We exposed the medical neglect our mother experienced and the malpractice that led to her death and yet, we found many legal attorneys who only empathized with our story but did not listen enough to fight for the injustice if the malpractice was not a high value compensation but blessedly, we were able to obtain a wonderful attorney Hakeem Muhammad.
We’ve been impressed with BrendaBear Foundation , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a nonprofit foundations. We have been blessed to have celebrated our 2nd annual 5k walk for September’s Chronic Pain Awareness Month. We birthed our foundation out of pure pain and grief as we saw our mother suffer until death as an inpatient patient at a NY State Hospital. We are committed to educating the minority communities the importance of advocating for your loved one in the healthcare system, where doctors took an oath but due to shortage of medical staff, insurance high prices and red tape, they fail the very black/brown patients, especially black women as though we are expendable. We created our brand and logo out of the enjoyment of our mother’s style and profession as an early childhood educator of 45 years, the BrendaBear, she loved children, teddy bears and bucket hats. Our mother fell on Nov 23, and although she didn’t break anyone’s or fractured lower extremes, she laid in a paraplegic position in the ER for 2 weeks with merely the bare medications, although she was a successful kidney transplant patient with just 4 years of enjoy her new leash on life, traveling independently back and forth from Atlanta where her 3 children reside, I myself, an assistant at Emory University and Healthcare, my sister, a faculty member and clergy, Dr. Shana Goodson, and my brother, special education teacher, Mr. Jonathan Goodson all reside. I want your readers to know that we provide a service of education, resources, advocacy, and emotional support as both my sister and I are certified life coaches and we understand the burden the circumstances of our loved ones can cause. We have a special heart for children who live with chronic pain daily, and we have our 1st edition of the BBF coloring book, “Coloring Through Pain”, a colorful therapeutic book. Through donations, it is our desire to distribute our coloring books across the world and being a voice. Currently, we are in pursuit of bringing civil litigations against the very institutions that violated our loved one’s disability and racial discrimination..
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Our attorney Hakeem Muhammad, a social injustice attorney.
Pricing:
- 9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.brendabearfoundation.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendabearfoundation?igsh=MTVyeXJnNHBuc2J2aw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ANksywSR9/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
Images by BrendaBear Foundation organizers only
