Sarah Bekele

I founded Survivors Rejoice after surviving a shooting five years ago where I was shot six times and my boyfriend Malik lost his life trying to save mine. That experience sent me on a deep healing journey where I realized that hurt people hurt people, but healing people help people. I wanted to create the safe spaces that I didn't see when I was hurting and when my family was hurting, so I decided to create them myself. Through Survivors Rejoice, I find survivors who've been impacted by gun violence and help them heal through holistic somatic approaches like yoga, sound baths, art therapy, and breathwork, really just helping the mind, body, and soul get aligned again. My day-to-day work involves outreach to local facilities and trauma-informed care spaces, case management and resource coordination for survivors on our caseload, networking with holistic service providers in the community, and applying for grants to secure funding so we can better serve our survivors. One of my most rewarding moments was working with a survivor who wasn't able to physically leave their house for years due to their nervous system being overstimulated. Through the work we provided, they were able to gain power in themselves and their independence again, and seeing them leave the house, go to a grocery store, and find themselves again has been amazing. Seeing people get their lives back is just incredible.