JustBEInc. was born in a moment of clarity. After almost 20 years of combined experience working with young people we couldn't ignore the feeling that there was something missing in our work. Deeply dedicated to the health and well being of all children, but specially connected to the lives of young women, we (friends since high school) simultaneously came to the conclusion that we needed to change the trajectory of our life's work….

After much contemplation and many, many in depth discussions, we realized that we needed to do this work as much as this work needed to be done. The first program of JustBEinc. was the "JEWEL" program. This graduating curriculum is designed for girls between 6th and 9th grade and deals directly with the issues that young women of color specifically deal with in the new millennium. As the "JEWEL" program came to life the nagging feeling came back…there was something more we needed to be doing. There were a wealth of ideas that came out in our all night brainstorming sessions, but none of them relieved this new nagging feeling. Having both been survivors of various things with unresolved issues, when the idea for our second program came about we both decided to dive in head first. The campaign, called me too. deals directly with young women who are S.A.A.E. survivors. We coined the acronym S.A.A.E. to define women who are survivors of sexual abuse, assault and/or exploitation. Our goal for me too is to help young women of color heal from their victimization and become survivors using a philosophy we call "empowerment through empathy".

We are both (Chantay and Tarana) from the Bronx, NY originally. We met at 16 years old through a mutual friend and became fast friends. Though we went to separate colleges in separate states ( Chantay – SUNY Old Westbury/Tarana - Alabama State University and Auburn University at Montgomery) we remained close friends. During a visit to the South in 1999 Chantay decided that she could live with the warmer climate (and cheaper rents) Alabama had to offer and moved to Montgomery in 2000. Tarana, who went back to New York for a few years after college, but returned in 1999 , then lived in Montgomery and the two were reunited. Through the years most of our community work has been voluntary. JustBEInc is our first venture into following our own path and fulfilling our destiny.

More about Chantay…

More about Tarana…