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THE FOUNDER
"Always pay it forward"
Barbara King is the founder and CEO of Take Trips MES. As an educator for over twenty years; ten years educating youth in secure and non-secure facilities, it was her mission to establish an organization where youth of color would be allowed to address their traumatic experiences by utilizing proper tools to heal from the damage of the outside world and the incarceration and detention system.
Tired of seeing this population increase the recidivism rate by consistently returning to the system, she began to inquire why this was happening. The answers were always the same, they were not receiving adequate aftercare services.
This was another mental and emotional wound they had to face. Barbara knew only too well the devastation wounds can cause if not attended to, she herself was mere steps away from being a part of the incarceration system. As a teenage mother from Harlem, New York on public assistance, socializing with dealers in Harlem during the late 80s, being stabbed, were all factors to how she could have became a statistic.
However, she had family and friends who provided her with a great foundation, especially an uncle who allowed her to be her and reach her potential. This foundation is what she has always relied on. Many youth of color don’t have a strong foundation and that is what Barbara wants to provide through Take Trips MES.
Barbara believes in paying it forward.
As a mother of two Kings in these trying times, I don't only fear for the juveniles and inmates I work with, I fear for my sons as well. When they step out into these streets I am never at ease until I hear their voices or see their smiling faces once again.
This is not the world I envisioned for them, but it's the world that has been built for me and them. As the founder of Take Trips MES, I want each young black male and female to return to their mothers every night safe and sound and not in a body bag.
