Ebony Manning is a Prevention Specialist for Trinity Behavioral Care in South Carolina and host of “The Art of Recovery” podcast. In this episode, she shares her powerful journey from military spouse to passionate community organizer, revealing how boots-on-the-ground networking, authentic relationships, and strategic partnerships transform prevention work. Discover how she implemented Too Good for Drugs as a consequence alternative in schools and built the trust that opens doors with key stakeholders.
Key Takeaways
- Show up consistently and be boots on the ground in your community
- Build authentic relationships first credibility and trust open doors
- Ask the right questions to identify community needs before pitching solutions
- Leverage existing relationships and key stakeholders to move initiatives forward
- Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need; strategic networking is smart business development
- Your character and passion matter more than having all the answers
- Start projects without waiting for perfect conditions “just do it”
- Be accessible and available people need resources right now, not someday
Introduction
Jake: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Drug Prevention Power Hour. I’m your host, Jake White with Vive18. And today we are hanging out with a new friend, Ebony Manning. Ebony is a prevention specialist for Trinity Behavioral Care out in South Carolina. So, Ebony, thanks for being on the show today.
Ebony: Thanks for having me. I’m glad to be here. I looked forward to the experience. I let you at the conference, survivor conference, and the training. It was awesome. I love how you kept us involved and it gives you more ideas. I like this. I like this vibe. So I want to be a part of it in any way I can. I’m glad to be here.
Jake: I love to hear that. We’ve been asked to train at these statewide prevention meetings and stuff like that in the last year or two. So far we’ve done Texas, Vermont, and now y’all in South Carolina. And I gotta tell you, being in that room with everyone, I had so much fun with you.
Ebony: It was like a fresh look of prevention. We all have the same energy, the same vibe. So it was refreshing.
Jake: You have a good group there.
Ebony: Absolutely. For me too, I’m like, I kinda wanna move to South Carolina now.
Ebony: That means you gotta come back and see us at least once a year.
Jake: Yeah, absolutely. I will talk to Michelle about it.
Ebony’s Background and Military Journey
Jake: Well, Ebony, please tell us a little bit more about you—what town you’re from, what you do at work, just the basic intro and if you’re comfortable, a couple little tidbits about what family or fun or any of those things.
Ebony: So I was raised in Dillon, South Carolina. I got married at a young age, moved to the Air Force, and traveled the world. Then I came back and it’s like, what am I gonna do? It’s definitely different. It’s a small rural area, things are not up to date, and resources were kind of scarce. There’s no way I gotta go. And then God is like, no, I can use you here. I can use you here. And I’m like, how in the world? But what I took from it is that when I moved away and experienced so many different places, there’s always some type of reason, some type of way to serve.
In the military, as a spouse with a child, you’re trying to figure out what to do, what resources are available. The Air Force did really good most of them do really good in the community where you have so many resources available. And so I took that and I ran with it. I was like, nobody was able to do it for me, but any spouses and kids were coming in, I was the one that helped them. I would say, “Hey, I got this, this, this, this, and this.”
I enjoy what I do because it helps you feel a little bit more comfortable every time you move and every time you settle. You’ll have easy access or having somebody there to answer those questions. So when I finally left, I was stationed in Oklahoma City. As spouses and even for workout, we came up with an idea, hey, how about we volunteer hours to wash the babies and then you go work out? We got one of the commanders on board with it. So there were other ways because it’s important mentally when you have all of this stuff going on around you.
Right before I left, they had a ceremony at the readiness center and I found out they coined me. They said, “Service before self.” And I’m thinking, I’m just doing what’s in my heart. I keep the coin with me as a reminder because compassion is natural to me.
Finding Purpose in Prevention
Ebony: When I came here, I figured out how can I apply this knowledge that I know in the area that I am? I was looking for jobs and I prayed, “God, go back one more time and let me know which one you want me to apply for.” And I applied for Trinity.
August will be two years. We started the podcast my first year on the actual day that I got hired on August the 12th. It’s been an amazing journey. I love the kids. I’ve been in the schools at health fairs. Marlborough County is the county that I work in—we have three facilities in Dillon and Marion, but Marlborough County. Yes, it was more than 15 miles from where I grew up, but when I tell you, I went in there boots on the ground. I showed up. I was here, I was there. And now when they see me, “Hey Trinity. Hey, Miss Trinity.” I miss Trinity. Miss Every, everyone. I think that says a lot. And that’s what makes me happy. And that’s what’s fun to me.
Boots on the Ground Prevention Work
Jake: They call you Miss Trinity? That’s so funny.
Ebony: Being able to be that person that they know if they call her she’s gonna find out. She don’t know, she’s gonna find out. And it’s just another ministry. We’re out here serving God’s people and we’re going in places where people don’t want to go in or have these conversations. Between planning events and back to school, we’re all in this together. That’s my thing. This is about pushing unity. There shouldn’t be any separation. It’s unity, and we need to be selfless and sacrifice our time to give back. I love it. I enjoy it. And I’m always coming up with ideas. It’s like I always got something going on. I’m very creative and my job is not a job to me it’s a vacation. Because I’m relaxed, I’m comfortable in what I’m doing, and I can see where I’m going.
Jake: That is exciting. Ebony, I’m so glad that we have you in the prevention field and that the last two years have been so fulfilling for you. The excitement I’m getting just from being across the screen from you is probably only a fraction of the excitement that these students get when they hang out with you. They see a confident, amazing woman who’s doing incredible things.
“My job is not a job to me it’s a vacation. Because I’m relaxed, I’m comfortable in what I’m doing, and I can see where I’m going.”
The Power of Character and Confidence
Jake: You can’t skip that relationship side. Any leader will discover that you bring someone in for character first. So congratulations to your team that they got you on board, because you can’t teach what you have right now the character, the excitement. You’re learning the rest as you go.
Ebony: Because this is a job that you have to stay on your feet. You have to stay attentive. It’s being open to just show up. In the prevention world, I’ve heard a couple of times if you’re in that office, you’re not working. Because we need to be in the community, right? If we’re not hosting anything or participating in things, then who are you reaching? Did I learn something new today? If you’re in the office too much, it’s like who are you reaching?
Prevention Requires Community Presence
Ebony: If this resource doesn’t make sense to me, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t share it. I should promote it in our facility or posted it on our page. We’re gonna bridge these, man. Let’s be a resource to everybody. Sometimes there’s a lack of knowledge or people not wanting to ask questions about resources. I’m that one that walks right up and can see them coming. I pray every morning and I say to God, “Move everybody out of the way so that you can have the glory.” So I think the future is gonna be bright. I’m expecting all kinds of things to go on.
Jake: Amen. That’s refreshing. That’s so good.
Strategic Networking and Building Relationships
Jake: I just finished a book about Blake Mykowski who started TOMS Shoes. Nobody was doing that model back then you sell a product and then you give away a product for free. Everyone said it wouldn’t work. But he had a very small team of excited people who were boots on the ground. They were out giving away the shoes, developing the product, talking with people, and they knew a little bit of everything.
Ebony: That’s right. That’s right.
Jake: There’s a cool example of a company that produced one of the fastest jets in the world at a quarter of the price. When they asked how, it went back to the people designing the plane. They get in the plane. If they make a mistake, they’re seeing it firsthand. They had to be cross-trained in everything. I think that’s so cool for prevention. No matter where your career shifts, maybe you have a gift of speaking to young people. And then as you get older, maybe you change that or start getting into advancement or fundraising. But never leave that zest for being there with everybody because it’s gonna keep you relevant.
Ebony: Yes, most definitely. It’s so important to invest in our future, which is our young people. I have this joke—I’m gonna deal with the adults. Let me just get the kids because they’re gonna be real, they’re gonna be transparent, and you can expect that from a young person. I really feel that if we give them the platform, they will flourish.
Investing in Youth and Rural Communities
Ebony: Within rural communities, this is all you see, this is all you know. A lot of them aren’t thinking outside of the box. So I’m working, thinking, drawing notes, and finding a way to bring it to them. Just have different resources, different employments, schools, colleges, or activities. But it’s gonna take unity. It’s gonna take the village, it’s gonna take the community and resources to make these things happen. It’s gonna work. It’s gonna take time, but it’s gonna work.
I have two girls. My oldest is twenty four. She graduated and has a bachelor’s in nursing and she’s working in the hospital. She’ll be seventeen in September, going to be a junior. They know their mom. Sometimes they get jealous like everybody else getting the attention of their mom. But they truly know, “Mom, this job is really for you. This is you.” Because without the job, I was still doing the same things in the community, even in our church home and fellowship churches.
That’s who I am. It’s all about being in a power and being encouraging because you just never know what somebody’s going through. A hug or a smile, “Hey, how you doing?” or a compliment. They’re used to that mindset. It makes them strong and courageous and bold in day-to-day life.
“It’s all about being in a power and being encouraging because you just never know what somebody’s going through.”
They said, “This is just for you, Momma. He got the right job. He put you right where you wanted to be.” I said he did. I think he’s amazing. Within a month I started working at Trinity and I was doing research and reading information and the word Trinity stood out to me. That was just another confirmation that he’s in this. I’ll be 45 in November this year and it’s like understanding purpose. It’s locked in. This is this purpose. All that experience you went through that’s why I gave this experience. It didn’t realize that it’s still a part of my life today. No titles, no names. It wasn’t a job—it was me being who I am. My model is you treat people the way you want to be treated and always forward. The journey of my life still applies to now. Sometimes it don’t always make sense, but I’m like this is purpose, this is purpose, and I’m 100%.
Creating Impact: Too Good for Drugs Implementation
Jake: Ebony, I want to hear more about the projects and initiatives you’ve been a part of over the last two years. Tell us about something that you’re proud of and that you’ve been able to do in your community through Trinity.
Ebony: Okay, so recently I was able to meet with the superintendent of our county. By me going into evidence-based programs in alternative schools, middle schools, or the boys’ camp, I always make the environment feel like a safe place because I want to hear what they have to say.
It came to a point where the kids were getting suspended for vaping. So you’re suspended for vaping, but what is that helping? What is that solving? Long story short, I asked a sheriff from Marlborough County. We had a task force you know, community experts for overdose—so I have somebody from each agency at the table. I brought all my training brochures, I had some games, I had material, I had everything. The program I was promoting was Too Good for Drugs. I laid it out and said, “Here’s my thing. How about we make Too Good for Drugs a part of a consequence? Because if you’re sending them home, we’re not doing anything. We have to teach them something. That’s where it first starts. Not saying we already know their backstory or their backgrounds, but we have to start somewhere.”
I pitched it. They were ready for it. So we started in April. I did 10 lessons, two days a week. They have this program called freshman seminar where it’s all ninth graders. I was using that hour to teach the program for about six to eight weeks and to get them involved and get the school involved because it wasn’t there. Even when they did the CTC surveys, they realized they hadn’t done it in two years. Hey, we need to get back in the schools. This helps us know what we need to do and where we are.
That was definitely a big accomplishment. But I don’t think it would have happened if I wasn’t boots on the ground, if I wasn’t showing up, if I wasn’t presenting what we have to offer. People are paying attention to what you got. The principal was like, “Are you gonna be teaching?” I said, “Yes, sir. Come on.” Because he already knew. He knows I believe in what I’m doing. I have three relationships and the ability to have the trust of the community to have these conversations.
The Art of Recovery Podcast Launch
Ebony: Of course, the podcast—I didn’t see that coming at all, honestly. They chose me to host it. It was the first time the company had started a podcast and they chose me. You see something in me, and the fact that they trusted me—that means a lot. We called it “The Art of Recovery” because art describes the shape, size, colors, and it’s about our background, what we know. Recovery looks different to you than it was different to me than everybody’s experiences. So I get to interview people, their personal stories, or just ask, “Hey, what are you doing in the community? What do you respect? What are you doing?”
Celebrating Community Wins
Ebony: I just had a cool episode with the band director for the middle school. They keep winning. They’re very good. I was like, “Hey, what is going on? This is something positive. How can I help invest?” Recently they just won again. I’m like, “Coming back, coming back.” That’s what I was gonna do. Because it’s giving them—it’s celebrating them, celebrated who they are. I’m very excited about that.
We did a youth session. That was one of my favorite podcasts because it was just an open conversation. We gave them an opportunity to share. We went from there and went from there and it was delightful and encouraging. They’re just like, “We’re gonna be on YouTube. We’re gonna…” It was the vibe. Why not you? You know? I need that.
Jake: What a positive experience for them to be able to be featured and centered and use their voice. That’s what’s so cool. That is prevention. That experience.
Getting the Superintendent Meeting
Jake: I want to ask a couple questions that I think are really important. First, do you remember how you got the meeting with the superintendent? Were you part of that? Or did someone get the meeting and there was a connection that happened to make that?
Ebony: I was in the middle of that. How that happened was I created a task force—community experts for overdose so I have somebody from each agency at the table. I was starting to get in the schools last year, so I was paying attention to what I was seeing and hearing. In that meeting, I wanted to hear what the person from the school district was saying, what the principal was saying, what local law enforcement was seeing. Then I said, “Okay, I have a plan. This is what we can do.” And sure enough, when you got the sheriff on your team, he just called them up.
Ebony: He knew he served on the school board for many years. So he’s familiar with everybody. He made the call and reached out. He said, “You know, we’re about to have you working.” I said, “That’s what I’m here for.”
Building Trust Through Strategic Partnerships
Jake: That’s really helpful to know that in the meeting you asked them questions to acknowledge the need, and then you showed how you could fulfill that need. And again, you had built the trust for them to say, “Great, yes, I trust you. You’re credible. You’ve been doing this. I can see it. I can connect the dots.” But how did you actually get them to say yes to an appointment with you? Do you remember?
Ebony: Yes, I think I put it all together, but I think it matters the resources you have. The resource of the sheriff—he already has resources. You have to use these people who are in positions that already have resources and context to make this happen. That’s how I work. The principal, the teachers, the sheriff, the chief—they’ve been there in that community for many years. They know what they know and they know who is who. So I always ask.
Another thing it’s important to have people at the table who can move. I think that’s just strategic. It just makes sense.
Leveraging Key Stakeholders
Ebony: Like even with the coroner, we partnered with him and he’s great. When it comes to opioid overdoses and the numbers and the data, I did the footwork. We do a pill take back and he comes out and shows up. You do little things it’s like leaving breadcrumbs because in it you need a whole lot.
Jake: Yes. That’s so good. Ebony, I want to point this out for our listeners because a lot of people will ask, how do you get key stakeholders in the community to care about prevention? You showed that the sheriff cares about this. I want you to come meet with us. And then what’s so nice is the sheriff validates all the work you’re doing already. The people you’ve worked with get to sell them on prevention instead of you having to do all the heavy lifting. That’s really smart networking. That’s smart business development.
“You have to use these people who are in positions that already have resources and context to make this happen. That’s how I work.”
So everybody take notes. Ask yourself: Who do I already know that’s connected with that other person? And then when you get them in the room, you don’t have to jump all the way to the superintendent. Maybe it’s somebody else that comes first and it starts this domino effect. I just appreciate that you did that.
Ebony: That was good. Yeah. All the way to the right thing, almost like, almost first.
Smart Networking and Business Development
Jake: And that you’re that type of person. You’re like, I’m not gonna back down. I’m gonna ask for who I want in the room.
Ebony: Yes. Yes. Yes. That’s kind of some people take it as she just thinks she knows what she doesn’t learn. But in this world, you have people and you have to be confident in what you’re trying to achieve. It’s like, nobody can tell me different right now. Until it can’t happen, until you try basically. So if it’s something I really believe, then I did my research, pay attention for a little bit, and then you make a move. But there are people still in our community that care. Sometimes when you see that they were just working. You know, they were just working. It was just another paycheck form. And I don’t like that. But we have that mindset. So we just have to choose to show them, show them what it’s really about. And they’re starting to think about individuals. Sometimes their actions are a lot of their words. And so I still gotta go for it.
Overcoming Hesitation and Taking Action
Jake: Ebony, I think we can title this episode “Being a Passionate Prevention Networker.” You’re a great example of that through everything. And honestly, looking back at your story as someone who moved a lot being in the military you probably had to become this person that could reintegrate into a new community, make friends, which is a skill, just like anybody else. For anybody thinking, “Well, I’m not that type of person,” maybe it’s just you haven’t practiced yet. And you can get good at it, absolutely.
Ebony: You know what I’ve done it’s kind of back. Looking at the lot yet, you know?
Jake: So Ebony, because I wanna maximize this time with you, we got a couple minutes left. Your podcast is called The Art of Recovery. For anybody who’s thought about starting a podcast but maybe didn’t because they’re nervous or they don’t know how what encouragement or tips would you give them quickly?
Starting a Podcast: Tips and Encouragement
Ebony: The first thing is the Nike check. Just do it.
Jake: To get them get started.
Ebony: Just do it. You know, because the thing is, you won’t know what to expect if you don’t try it. When it comes to cameras and material, most of the time you already have everything you need. Even with high-tech phones now, if you need to do something right away, you can. You can get your pieces. We’re here if you have any questions. Working together for these questions. Finding the software that you want to use, but you don’t have to do it alone. Don’t be alone and don’t be fearful. We learn as we go. Trust me. You keep moving forward. When you’re doing it, don’t have everybody all involved.
Jake: Not every project needs to be the all hands on deck project.
Ebony: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just like, you know what you’re feeling, you know what you want to do, and that’s what you want to do. It’s okay to do it your way. We don’t always do things the same way and it’s okay as long as we’re getting that message across and showing up and being there. So I say just do it. Just do it and I’m here.
Jake: I love it. I remember when we started, I also had excuses about why I couldn’t. I thought, well, what if I have to do it every week? It’s like, get rid of all those expectations you put on yourself and just start. In the beginning, you have a laptop and maybe a Zoom subscription. Start there. Upload it to YouTube or upload it to Buzzsprout, which is one that we use where you upload it and it sends it to all the registries. Now we use a platform called Riverside, which is fancy but very cheap—I think it’s like 25 bucks a month—and it has the editor all inside. But you don’t have to start with all that knowledge. I started my business by Googling how to start a business. Like, you gotta start somewhere. I like what you said, just do it.
Ebony: Right. And you never know how much of an impact it can be. When we started, we did all the lighting, the green screen, and then if I have a good idea, this person is available, this is over at this place. Hey, let’s do it right here. It’s more genuine, it’s more transparent because I don’t like a script. I don’t want people looking for a right now word, right now encouragement, or right now a resource. How can you help me right now? So you have to be willing to just breathe, be available, be accessible, and give our community what they’re looking for. It’s like there’s no wrong way to be a resource or community outreach. Nike Check. Let’s do it.
Being a Resource for Your Community
Jake: I love that. That is the perfect ending, I think. Ebony, if people want to get in touch with you and follow everything you’re doing in prevention in South Carolina, do you have a handle or anything that you like to give people or a website?
Ebony: The Art of Recovery. Trinity Behavioral Care dot org. I’m in the Marlborough County location, but they all know who I am. We have one in Dillon and Marion, so feel free to reach out. The doors are always available. You can just walk in. For a box, you can get it. Whatever resources you need, just walk in. If we don’t know, we will be able to assist you. “Together we can choose a better life” is our slogan.
Jake: That’s perfect. Yes. And for everyone listening, thank you for being in the prevention field. You are making a difference. If you need anything, reach out to Ebony, reach out to myself. We are always better together. I just love this episode so much. If you think someone else would be encouraged by this episode, go ahead and share it with them. Say, “Hey, happy day. I’m thinking about you. I just want to send this your way and stay in touch.”
This has been another episode of the Drug Prevention Power Hour, and we will see you next Monday for another episode.
Connect with Ebony Manning
Trinity Behavioral Care: https://www.trinitybehavioralcare.org/
Podcast: The Art of Recovery
