Shakera Buchanan

I was born and raised in the East Bay area to teenage parents who struggled with substance abuse, generational trauma and deep poverty. Due to the home environment that I was born into, I was removed from care and placed in the child welfare system. Through the journey of out of home care, I experienced loss, suffering, trauma and a host of other human experiences that accompany abandonment. I also came to the understanding of God through exposures of various people that I crossed paths with, in what I now understand was the work of God drawing me to Him. At the age of 19 I found myself in an Apostolic Pentecostals Easter service, where I had been invited by an old friend, and it was that Sunday morning that God filled me with the gift of the Hold Ghost and revealed Himself to me. I was baptized shortly afterwards and became a student of the gospel. Through the transforming and healing power of God, my past was healed, I was set free and God gave me a new life with a new purpose. I am now married, for over 20 years, with two teenage children who were raised in truth and have a pure love for the things of God and are kingdom minded. My family and I have served within our local congregation for over 26 years. I have served in hospitality staff, children/youth ministry, bible studies, and am the lead of our Ladies Ministry. I am also our church's resident counselor where I provide counseling support to members within our congregation. I also host and facilitate parenting classes, marriage seminars and premarital counseling. In addition to my work within the church, I have over 27 years of working in human services within the secular community. I have worked in various capacities that include case manager for homeless women and children and domestic violence survivors, clinical case manager for dual diagnosed formerly homeless adults and school-based therapist, working with pre-K -12th graders and their families. In addition to these roles, I am currently a trainer for various agencies in the Bay Area and am a private practitioner.