Meet Brenda Ryan of Northeast Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Ryan.

Hi Brenda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I lost my daughter in 2016 to a fentanyl overdose. She left behind a five-year-old little boy named Wyatt. We started Keys 2 serenity are nonprofit in 2017 are nonprofit supports children that have been impacted by addiction in the home. These are kids that have either lost a parent. Parents are incarcerated or relatives are raising the children due to addiction. They are over. 300,000 children in the US that have lost a parent to addiction. These are. The innocent victims are nonprofit provides hope support for these children by events that are always free to the children and their caregivers. These events include fishing derby‘s Christmas parties, Easter parties back to school events, etc. we do these events to give the children a sense of belonging so they know that they are not alone in the struggle it also builds healthy memories with their loved ones. We also provide support to Kinship Providers with free giveaways like backpacks and Christmas presents to the children that they are raising. .. my grandson Wyatt is now 15 years old and unfortunately has just lost his father to addiction less than two months ago. Wyatt has had extensive therapy and he is part of our nonprofit so he is very educated about addiction and mental health. I am 62 years old, so raising a child as a senior is sometimes a struggle.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a nonprofit is definitely a struggle at times.. The biggest struggle is funding our nonprofit. We are a grass roots organization, and a lot of the federal state and county money never trickles down to us. We rely on mostly personal donations and businesses that believe in the work that we do in the community over the years, we provide 10 to 15 events per year for these children and social media has brought that to light for many because they can see that all the money goes back into the children and the Kinship Providers no one on our nonprofit is given a salary

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an independent hairstylist still working after 46 years of doing hair to provide for my grandchild that I raise. My nonprofit Keys 2 serenity is funded by mostly donations. That alone sets us apart from many nonprofits… also our nonprofit is the only nonprofit that I know of that provides for the children that have been impacted by addiction.. Summit County has multiple resources for people in substance use disorder, but we are the only organization out here providing for the innocent victims the children

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We have a board of eight individuals.. but we are always looking for folks to join our Volunteer board. They can sign up on our website at keys2serenity.org

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Keys2serenity.org
• Facebook: Keys to Serenity