Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Ellis. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Jasmine Ellis, Founder and CEO of the Dock Ellis Foundation Inc with Hjordis Ellis, widow Co-Founder, and Tanya Frazier CSO. founded The Dock Ellis Foundation in honor of my father, Dock P. Ellis, Jr. He was an African American Major League Baseball Pitcher from 1968 through 1970. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets. Well known for his no-hitter, five National League Eastern Division titles, and winning the World Series in 1971, we are reminded of his courage, and how he notably transcended racial prejudice and resistance as an African American Major League Baseball player in that time. Dock’s legacy lives on through the work of the Dock Ellis Foundation, whose mission is to advocate and assist minority missing persons and victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
We are the voice for those who can’t speak: the missing, the beaten, the trafficked. It is our chosen responsibility to bring them home safely. We also provide resources to the minority victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking that are neglected and poorly served by the justice system.
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?
Dock Ellis Foundation has worked diligently to bring awareness to the work we do! Building trust with the community that we will stand with them every step of the way, proving to law enforcement that we are here to respect their investigation and confidentiality, and bringing in partners to help make the process seamless. When a family member contacts us, we stand with each client every step of the way. We provide basic needs to the families, due to economic hardship, we assist with temporary emergency shelter, relocation assistance, food, and clothing through our Pink Heart funds. On a higher end, we provide an aggressive awareness campaign on social media and news outlets. We partner with Homeland Secuirty, Domestic Violence Shelters and search and rescue teams in multiple states and coordinate with law enforcement.
The biggest obstacle has been funding, Dock Ellis Foundation is a volunteer ran organization currently using our own funds to help families that are in need. The minority community is being devastated by the number of women and children missing. We dedicate everything we can to continue our mission.
Black women account for less than 15% of the U.S. population but more than one-third of all missing women. Black women also face a disproportionately high risk of being killed at the hands of a man. According to the FBI, at least four Black women were murdered per day in 2020. When it comes to human trafficking, Black women are at increased risk here as well. Black women make up 40% of people who have survived sex trafficking. Black youth comprise 51% of all prostitution arrests for those under age 18—more than any other racial group.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Today, over 500 victims Nationwide have benefited from survivor care services provided by Dock Ellis Foundation which includes but are not limited to: skills development, education/employment assistance, crisis intervention, safety planning, application assistance, appointment accompaniment, and court/trial preparation/assistance and Funeral Arrangements.
Recently Dock Ellis Foundation received National attention for the work we do in the minority community for missing persons.
On December 25th Dock Ellis Foundation received a call from the family of 16-year-old Tayanna Manuel’s family, as soon as the foundation got the call early Christmas morning, we got to work putting out a flyer with her face on it, bringing attention to the missing youth in the media and opening our tip line. After multiple calls and emails to law enforcement demanding an Amber Alert, the system failed unfortunately which could have saved the teen’s life. Amber Alerts are usually issued when a child goes missing, but that wasn’t the case for Tayanna Manuel, who was found dead near a dumpster outside of an apartment complex.
The Dock Ellis Foundation works on getting answers for families of color when their loved ones go missing. In this case, we were in communication with the Police Department, but the outcome was heartbreaking.
How do you define success?
Over 600,000 individuals go missing in the United States every year. Fortunately, many missing children and adults are quickly found, alive and well. However, tens of thousands of individuals remain missing for more than one year – what many agencies consider “cold cases”. It is estimated that 4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year, with approximately 1,000 of those bodies remaining unidentified after one year.
Success for Dock Ellis Foundation would having the necessary funding to provide opportunities, resources and advocacy to minority communities to improve the lives of the poorly served, underserved, never served and those traumatized by the atrocities of human trafficking.
Contact Info:
- Website: dockellisfoundation.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dockellisfoundation?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeNowBringThemHome?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@FactCheckTV
