Humans of Cranston is a recurring column showcasing the stories of Cranston community members’ community involvement, diversity, and unique life perspectives.

Sarah DeCataldo is the owner of Charis, a non-profit consulting business, an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and adjunct professor of Victimology at Johnson and Wales University.

I run my own non-profit consulting business. The name is Charis, LLC, which is Greek for “grace,” and I once heard “grace” defined as “love in action,” and my business is truly my love in action. It’s my love of community and making positive change, and that’s been something that’s been inside me since I was a little kid. ... In high school, we were required to do an internship, and I had seen a documentary in class on violence against women that was happening over in Africa, and I was like, “this is horrible! I can’t believe this is happening. We need to do something.” So, when my school asked, “what do you want to do for your internship?” I was like, “I want to help the women in Africa and stop the violence that’s happening against them,” and they looked at me like I had ten heads. ... I’ll never forget, the internship coordinator said to me, and it still sticks in my mind today, “I know you want to help and go to Africa, but do you realize that domestic violence is also a big problem here, and you can do an internship helping women who are experiencing that type of violence here?” and my mind was kind of blown, and my world was totally opened up. So, my senior year of high school, I interned at one of the domestic violence shelters and helped them to develop a curriculum for teen dating violence to engage young people in being a part of the solution, but also understanding the red flags and warning signs, and I just fell in love with doing that type of work.

I got my undergrad in Criminal Justice, I was hired as a Victim Advocate at Day One, which is Rhode Island’s sexual assault and trauma resource center, and I was a Victim Advocate for twelve years supporting survivors at hospitals, police stations, at the court, and supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, child molestation, and stalking, making sure that their voices were being heard throughout the process, that they felt supported, and that everyone was doing what they were supposed to do ... But I was on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and I got burnt out. I loved the work, I just couldn’t be on the frontlines anymore, so that’s when I went back to school and got my master’s in Non-Profit Management, and I said, “you know what? I can still help without being on the frontlines.”

My entrance essay for my master's program asked, “What are you going to do with this master’s degree?” And at the time, I had been supporting a lot of survivors of human trafficking, and there were no shelters in the state for them. I would try to get survivors of trafficking into the domestic violence shelters, but they’re not the same... so, I said, “I want to open the state’s first shelter for victims of human trafficking.” When I graduated in 2016, I was hired at Sojourner House and a grant opportunity came up and they said, “we would really love to see a shelter for human trafficking,” and I said, “let me write the grant.” So, we did, and their shelter has been open since 2016, and it is still the only shelter for victims of human trafficking in the state. I’ve grown up with a lot of privilege and a lot of opportunity, and recognize that not everyone has the same access, so if I can use my privilege and opportunities that

I’ve had over the years to help others, to improve the way we do things, to enhance the way our systems operate for all people, then that’s my mission in life.

Now I run my business, and I teach Victimology at Johnson and Wales in their Criminal Justice department. I also sit on the Rhode Island Sex Offender Board of Review. ... I just try to have a lot of patience, because I recognize that we never know what someone is going through, so if we just have grace – Charis, right? – and meet people where they are, and instead of telling people what to do, offer options, offer resources, [we are] empowering them. What I did with survivors, I do with non-profits as well, because with my role as a consultant, I don’t want to go in there any say, “oh, I want you to pay me for this, this, this, and this, I need to keep my paycheck coming!” I want to go into a non-profit and say, “okay, what tools, resources, information, and knowledge do you need so that a year from now, you don’t need me anymore?” I want to be fired! That’s my goal!

I would love the community to recognize and see the hard work that’s happening right here in their communities and all the incredible non-profit organizations that are doing things ... we’re constantly hearing about these national non-profits, which are doing great work, but they have access to so many more national-level resources. ... We can all play an important role in helping the community thrive, it’s not just something that non-profits should do. We have to do it together if we want to make a difference and really see positivity and positive change in our community. So, I would just encourage anyone who’s reading this to look at, you know, what are some of the community organizations? What issues do you care about? Because I guarantee you, there is something local that is doing great work that could use your help.

The second season of this project has been made possible by the Rhode Island Department of Health and the efforts of the OneCranston Health Equity Zone of Comprehensive Community Action, Inc. in partnership with the Cranston Herald and Timothy McFate. The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Humans of Cranston participants do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the aforementioned parties. The presented stories are voluntarily provided, unpaid, and given verbatim except for correcting grammatical errors.

Want to nominate a Cranston resident to be featured? Email JB at jfulbright@comcap.org.