Detras Powell

My journey has been one of transformation and purpose. Twenty-eight years ago, I found myself homeless with four children, living in St. Joseph's Home shelter in Jersey City for 18 months. The sisters who ran that program helped me build who I needed to be and the woman I am today. I had to go through that situation so I could be the woman I am today. Fast forward to now, I actually am the residence manager of that same home, now called the York Street Project. I can give back to these women and pour into them from where I used to be. I see it from a personal perspective - it's not about sitting behind a desk and just pushing papers. It's more about giving them confidence and encouragement to let them know this is just a temporary phase. The moment they find out that I was once a resident, their whole expression changes. I always start with that to let them know I'm not just the person behind the desk. My heart was always here, and anything I could do to help these women out, I did it. I volunteered and was even on their board before becoming residence manager, but the board wasn't it for me. I needed to be in here to touch these women's lives in a major way. As a minister for the past 5 years at Purpose Church in Newark, I focus on women's empowerment, which is my heart, my passion, my soul. I was a broken woman, and now I encourage other women. I'm a preacher's child, but I took interest in knowing God for myself. I wanted to know who God was for Detras, not just what I heard my father preach. I studied the Bible, especially the women in the Bible, and that's what I teach my mentees. Ministry to me is personal - I pull from so many aspects of my life: marriage, children, everything. Fifteen years ago, I was a plus-size model, and that pivoted into something totally different. People were looking at me as this short, plus-size woman making an impact on other women, so I turned that into Butterfly Rhythm, my business encouraging plus-size women to step into who they are regardless of what everybody else thinks. I took other women along with me, and now I'm watching them soar. I also worked in healthcare administration for years after getting my associate's degree from University of Phoenix. I was at Hoboken Hospital through COVID, which was incredibly difficult, but I believe God had me there to witness to the nurses. After COVID, I started my handmade soap company, Wash and Made Whole Handmade Soaps. I've also been a brand ambassador for Eyes Like Mine, where I taught 14 blind women how to model. I went in blindly about this, and I really helped them. One of those women is still with me today and even starred in my short film, Dare to Believe God Has a Plan for You, which won awards. Everything I do connects back to the butterfly - nobody sees what the butterfly goes through, they just see the radiance at the end. We go through a lot, and people only see what we've become, but they didn't see what made us become this way.