Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Hall.
Hi Jennifer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Jenn Hall – wife to Chris Hall, mom to Kensie (8), Elle (6), Maverick (3) and Blake (1). I have a passion for God, my family, fitness, traveling and truly living each day with a mission to leave this World better than I found it.
I was born in Scotland to two military (Navy) parents and lived abroad until landing in Jacksonville, Florida around the age of 5. After my parent’s divorce at age 7, my older brother and I moved to Kissimmee, Florida where we lived with my dad while he pursed his dream of becoming a police officer at Haines City PD. That dream ended when he was shot and killed in the line of duty on March 3, 1998.
His case remained open for more than a decade. I was in high school when someone involved in the murder, who was in jail for a separate crime, found Jesus through his aunt and confessed details about the murder, including stating who was involved. The years that followed were hearings and sentencing for all five men. His case was featured on America’s Most Wanted – and the ruling on the shooter made it all the way to the Supreme Court. I spent my college years commuting to the courthouse in Tampa for hearings and to see the men who killed my dad get put behind bars for life.
Following his death in ’98, I moved back to Jacksonville with my mom and step-dad who had 2 more boys in 2001 and 2002 – my little brothers Matthew and William. I attended 3rd-12th grade there, graduating from Stanton College Prep in May 2007. That summer I moved to Orlando to attend UCF. I graduated with a degree in Radio/TV in 2011. I ultimately pursued a career in PR, where I worked my way to Director of Communications for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Florida, a local non-profit.
I did competitive cheerleading from 5th-12th grade and always wanted to open a business. I always thought it would be a cheer gym of some sort; but after finding a passion for CrossFit in 2010 my plans took a different turn. In 2014, my husband Chris and I opened CrossFit East Orange. Soon after, I quit my corporate job to go all-in on our business. We grew our micro gym from conception to $1 million in revenue within 3 years. We eventually expanded to 10+ employees and touched thousands of lives in the almost 10 years we operated. After getting pregnant with our 4th baby and knowing family needed to be the priority, we decided to sell the gym in January 2023.
Our gym was so much more than a place to workout. I loved coaching people through fitness and nutrition, and I really loved watching them improve their lives outside of the gym even more- creating healthy habits they mimicked in their other passions and careers, creating families and showing their kids the importance of health. They prioritized themselves, using our gym as their mental outlet while navigating symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Our goal was always to make the time they were there the “best hour of their day”. We met the most amazing people through our 9+ years as business owners and it will always be a chapter I am insanely proud of.
In line with my enjoyment of coaching and innate passion and mission to make a difference in the lives of others, in 2021 I trained to become a Survival Swim Instructor through swimsprout, LLC. I met the Founder, Heidi Burnett, a few years earlier when my first daughter took survival lessons with her at just 8 months old. I was fascinated by the process and hated that there’s a constant waiting list for this life-saving resource.
Prior to becoming a swim instructor, I found another calling that brings me closer to my current passion project that I’ll explain shortly. This happened in 2020 and started when I went down a social media hole on human trafficking and was mortified at how large of an underground industry it is and wanted to do something to make a difference. I met with a few people I knew in the non-profit world and I opened my own organization called CHiRP Louder. It was originally intended to help fund and provide therapies to youth victims of trafficking and sexual abuse. After months of research and creating a plan, I finally set up appointments with therapists across Orlando to sit down and finalize how we could partner to offer these services to our community. The night before that first meeting, I got the call that my baby brother shot himself. Needless to say, my work for the non-profit was put on hold. Aside from my lack of mental capacity to take it on at the time, I wasn’t sure my mission was still the same.
Through talking with more professionals in the mental health industry, I learned one of the biggest issues is that many of the organizations and programs available right now only support a child after a traumatic event, and that support is time -limited, lasting on average 6 sessions or about 3 months.
For comparison sake, it took me – a 30 year old adult – more than a year of biweekly therapy to even begin to process the anxiety and grief I experienced from losing my brother to suicide.
These are children ages 3-17, with a less developed brain, trying to process trauma and they’re given barely 12 weeks (if that) of help to get there.
I understand the emphasis on spreading resources, hence fewer individual-focused assistance. But, I believe in a different mindset- the “starfish” mindset. The story says thousands of starfish washed up on a beach and a man was throwing them back into the water one-by-one. A boy walked up and asked “what’s it matter? you’ll never save them all” to which the man threw another back in and replied “it mattered to that one”. We aim to be a LONG-term healing solution for 3-17 year olds. CHiRP evolved into House of Halls – a community and podcast focused on mental health awareness and helping others navigate through life after loss, grief, trauma and pain.
While we’re still in the early stages of growth and direction, House of Halls has already impacted a number of lives. In our first year, I had 12 individuals reach out and tell me our platform has saved them and encouraged them to seek help for suicidal thoughts. Countless others have expressed how it’s given them the strength and knowledge to seek therapy and helped them through their grief.
Looking back on my career path and personal experiences – a degree in communications, a job at a non-profit, running a business where I coached and taught physical health – to now a combination of it all by sharing my own painful experiences to help others through theirs – I truly couldn’t be more grateful and convinced that this is what my small part of making this world a little better than I found it was always meant to be.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oof. Running a small business that was forced to close down for 2 months during COVID is probably the biggest struggle that stands out here. Our business ran on monthly dues and we still had to pay the bills while we were forced to close for 2 months, so we had to get very creative on how to continue to provide our services without our facility. Looking back, I’m so proud of how we overcame it, but it was probably the most scared I’ve ever been as a business owner.
On a more personal level, continuing to parent and run businesses after losing my baby brother to suicide in 2020 at times felt like a struggle that had no light at the end of the tunnel. Moving along in the day-to-day while grieving his loss was the hardest thing I have ever forged through.
In my current venture, House of Halls, I’m still struggling with where I truly want it to land. I know who I want to serve and ideally how, but the logistics, connections and funding continue to be difficult barriers. This includes includes finding large-scale donors to fund mental health care for youth and identifying providers with therapists who have the availability to partner with us.
Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, one of my business mentors said something that has always stuck with me – “If you wait for it to be perfect, you’ll never start.” As a perfectionist and planner, I almost didn’t launch House of Halls because I STILL don’t have it all figured out yet, but it’s already changed so much from day one by just starting with what I had, so I know it’ll end up where it’s meant to be!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about House of Halls?
After losing my father to murder when I was 9, and my little brother to suicide when I was 30, I started House of Halls to crate a space for others who have experienced loss to find hope and purpose again.
House of Halls is a membership-based community for any and all individuals looking for a way to navigate life after loss. Our Mission is to provide a welcoming space for those experiencing grief from loss, to give them resources to navigate forward and a supportive community to let them know they’re not alone. In this group, we walk down several different “hallways” of grief: home life, work life, parenting, gratitude, coping and more.
Together, we share our stories, provide resources, complete monthly improvement challenges, learn from professionals in the space, and of course find a way to laugh along the way. We believe healing involves choices, connection and communication and we’re here to equip you with the skills and community to achieve those.
No one is meant to do life alone, ESPECIALLY in grief, pain and hard times. We want to be a place to land so that “you’re not alone” isn’t just a phrase we say on Mental Health Awareness Month but something we provide in action every single day.
For those who don’t necessarily feel ready for a community yet, and some who may just need a quick boost of feeling heard or something to relate to, we also regularly publish podcast episodes that are completely free of charge. They can be seen and heard on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or any other popular podcast platform.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I hope the industry of mental healthcare sees HUGE shifts over the next 5-10 years. There are so many people working relentlessly behind the scenes to get mental health covered by insurance, to increase the number of providers and practice early intervention therapies. We’re seeing these things happen slowly, but we need it to ripple exponentially. And I plan to be a small part of that blueprint.
Pricing:
- $3/mo to join our online community!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.skool.com/house-of-halls-7634/about
- Instagram: @houseofhallscommunity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-hall-8662b896/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@houseofhalls-y6s?feature=shared
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/6QQcY7JbucbfEdpf8ylhrn?si=17CjKFIuSzaJHmE6KMIEnw
