About JayPee

Jeff Powell, better known as Jay Pee, has an extensive history of experiencing homelessness and

addiction. His story is one of redemption and hope! His strong faith in God helped to catapult him out of his dire situation and into a thriving condition, where he has created a Recovery Community

Organization, became a Drug and Alcohol counselor and an inspiration to those in recovery all over the world!

Jay Pee came straight from the mean streets of Chicago, he has seen the worst of the worst, and he lives to tell his story! After he recovered from the street life, which included drug addiction, violence, drug dealing, homeless and many other challenges, he immersed himself into recovery and went back to school to become a Drug and Alcohol counselor; however, due to his record, which labeled him a felon, he was unable to gain licensing in the field. He worked alongside fellow recovery advocates and legislative officials to personally testify to his miraculous change and ultimately the State of Minnesota reversed the decision. This allowed him to complete his internship and graduate from Minneapolis College with an Associates of Science degree in Addictions Counseling. Despite the difficulties and obstacles of going back to school and working towards maintaining his own personal long-term recovery, he graduated with honors, as the Honors Society President. In 2020, he started his nonprofit, the Minnesota Hope Dealerz organization, which became the 9th RCO (Recovery Community Organization) in the state of Minnesota, the second one owned by an African American.

The Minnesota Hope Dealerz hosts Peer Recovery Specialist training classes, offers peer recovery services and offers safe sober events and activities those in recovery. Jay Pee also has one foot in the clinical setting and works as a Drug and Alcohol counselor at Evergreen Recovery Center as he continues to pursue his bachelor's degree in clinical social work at Metro State University and Global University to obtain his Pastoral credentials.

Jay Pee has currently maintained 4 years in recovery!! He is a Leader, a recovery advocate, and well known within the recovery community from the work that he does. He is a member of the National Success and leadership Society, Phi Theta Kappa alumni, the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, National association of Social Workers (N.ASW) Board of Directors with Wellness in the woods, Minnesota Social Services Association (MSSA), a servant leader and apart of the ministry of ICCM Life Center, NADDAC, MNAP, The Recovery Project, and proudly a Child of GOD. He is passionate about making a difference in his community. He has dedicated his life to helping people feel less broken and has become a beacon of light to people that are living in darkness. He believes that if God could pull him out of it and change him, that he can do it for anyone. He's working to become the change that he wants to see in the world. He is driven to show to those that are in despair that they can make it, and that there is HOPE. He's living proof of it!

How Minnesota Hope Dealerz Can Help

Minnesota Hope Dealerz knows that our strength lies not only in the words we stand by, but most importantly through the actions of our initiatives.

​

We’re committed to investing our expertise and resources in order to further achieve our cause. Since 2019,  we’ve been supporting our community members in a variety of ways and measuring our success not by monetary size, but by qualitative measurements such as the scale and effectiveness of our efforts. Just imagine what we can achieve together!

​

In 2019, our Movement, which is a 501 c3 NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION that realized by working together,  we could overcome our challenges much more efficiently, and that is why we ultimately decided to launch The Minnesota Hope Dealerz.

We are an organization that believes in multiple pathways of recovery.