Harmony was raised in Venice, California where she experienced a childhood filled with trauma and abuse. She and her younger brother were left by their mother at the age of 13 and 8 respectively. They spent the summer fending for themselves before she became involved with an older boy in her neighborhood. This young man essentially became her pimp when she entered the sex industry as an exotic dancer at the age of 19, using the stage name Monique.[4][5] She quit when she became a Christian in 1998.
Careeredit
In 2000, Dust graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. While working towards a master's degree in Social Welfare, she founded Treasures Out of Darkness, an outreach program which distributed gift bags with support information to Los Angeles area strippers. She later changed the name to Treasures Ministries, a Christian outreach and support group for women working in the sex industry. After graduating, Dust worked for the Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS) and was a member of the National Association of Social Workers. In 2007, she received the Dorothy F. Kirby Outstanding Youth Social Worker Award from the California chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.[6] She received both mayoral and Congressional recognition for her work in 2018. A flag was flown in her honor over the United States Capitol on May 19, 2018.[7]
In 2010, Dust published her memoir Scars & Stilettos: The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer. The second edition was released in 2018. She was featured in Glamour magazine and seen on The Tyra Banks Show and Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew. In 2005 Treasures began training others to replicate the Treasures model of outreach and care. In 2011, Treasures Ministries partnered with Craig Gross of xxxchurch.com to create The Strip Church Network. They have since parted ways and Dust and her team continue to train other leaders around the globe as a part of the Treasures Network. As of 2018, they have trained outreaches in over 120 cities on 6 continents.[8]
In May 2021 Dust gave a TEDx talk entitled "The Oldest Oppression in the Book" which addressed issues around prostitution and the movement to decriminalize it.[9] The talk was given without an audience present because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In October of that year TED decided to no longer list the video on their website and Youtube channel citing that the video "falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers around political agendas." Dust herself claims that the unlisting is because the content of her talk does not match TED's political views.[10] She re-published the talk on her own Youtube channel under the title "Should Prostitution Be Legal?"[11]
Personal lifeedit
Dust married hip hop singer Pigeon John (formerly John Dunkin) in 2002. They divorced in 2010,[12] and have one daughter together. She married Christopher Justin Grillo on March 14, 2015;[13][14] they had a son in January 2018. Dust and Grillo divorced in 2022.
Published worksedit
Scars & Stilettos: The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer (2010)
Referencesedit
^Weller, Sheila (1 December 2006). "No One Should Have to be a Stripper". Glamour.
^Dust, Harmony (13 February 2011). . sermon podcast. Oasis Church. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
External linksedit
Treasures Ministries
Harmony Grillo official website
"My Banned TED Talk" website
January 01, 1970
harmony, dust, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, tal. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Harmony Dust news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Harmony Star Dust Grillo born 1 January 1976 is an American social activist for women who have worked in the sex industry and victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking 1 2 3 Harmony DustHarmony DustBorn1976Other namesHarmony GrilloOccupation s Activist authorNotable workScars amp Stilettos The Transformation of an Exotic DancerWebsiteharmonygrillo wbr com iamatreasure wbr com Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Published works 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editHarmony was raised in Venice California where she experienced a childhood filled with trauma and abuse She and her younger brother were left by their mother at the age of 13 and 8 respectively They spent the summer fending for themselves before she became involved with an older boy in her neighborhood This young man essentially became her pimp when she entered the sex industry as an exotic dancer at the age of 19 using the stage name Monique 4 5 She quit when she became a Christian in 1998 Career editIn 2000 Dust graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor s degree in Psychology While working towards a master s degree in Social Welfare she founded Treasures Out of Darkness an outreach program which distributed gift bags with support information to Los Angeles area strippers She later changed the name to Treasures Ministries a Christian outreach and support group for women working in the sex industry After graduating Dust worked for the Department of Children amp Family Services DCFS and was a member of the National Association of Social Workers In 2007 she received the Dorothy F Kirby Outstanding Youth Social Worker Award from the California chapter of the National Association of Social Workers 6 She received both mayoral and Congressional recognition for her work in 2018 A flag was flown in her honor over the United States Capitol on May 19 2018 7 In 2010 Dust published her memoir Scars amp Stilettos The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer The second edition was released in 2018 She was featured in Glamour magazine and seen on The Tyra Banks Show and Sex Rehab with Dr Drew In 2005 Treasures began training others to replicate the Treasures model of outreach and care In 2011 Treasures Ministries partnered with Craig Gross of xxxchurch com to create The Strip Church Network They have since parted ways and Dust and her team continue to train other leaders around the globe as a part of the Treasures Network As of 2018 they have trained outreaches in over 120 cities on 6 continents 8 In May 2021 Dust gave a TEDx talk entitled The Oldest Oppression in the Book which addressed issues around prostitution and the movement to decriminalize it 9 The talk was given without an audience present because of the COVID 19 pandemic In October of that year TED decided to no longer list the video on their website and Youtube channel citing that the video falls outside the content guidelines TED gives TEDx organizers around political agendas Dust herself claims that the unlisting is because the content of her talk does not match TED s political views 10 She re published the talk on her own Youtube channel under the title Should Prostitution Be Legal 11 Personal life editDust married hip hop singer Pigeon John formerly John Dunkin in 2002 They divorced in 2010 12 and have one daughter together She married Christopher Justin Grillo on March 14 2015 13 14 they had a son in January 2018 Dust and Grillo divorced in 2022 Published works editScars amp Stilettos The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer 2010 References edit Weller Sheila 1 December 2006 No One Should Have to be a Stripper Glamour Our founder Harmony Grillo MSW iamatreasure com BuzzFeedVideo How My Childhood Led Me To Stripping retrieved 2019 01 11 Harmony s Story I Am a Treasure Retrieved 2016 02 05 BuzzFeedVideo How My Childhood Led Me To Stripping retrieved 2019 01 11 NASW CA Chapter Annual Awards NASW California Chapter 2007 Retrieved May 10 2011 Harmony Grillo on Facebook Facebook Archived from the original on 2022 04 27 user generated source Locations Treasures iamatreasure com Retrieved 2018 05 01 The Oldest Oppression in the Book TEDxUCLA May 20 2021 My Banned Ted Talk Still an idea worth spreading mybannedtedtalk com Retrieved 2023 05 03 Should Prostitution Be Legal Mar 29th 2022 Important Announcement Treasures Retrieved 21 September 2014 Treasures Website Dust Harmony 13 February 2011 Sex drive Part 2 sermon podcast Oasis Church Archived from the original on 23 July 2011 Retrieved 30 August 2020 External links editTreasures Ministries Harmony Grillo official website My Banned TED Talk website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harmony Dust amp oldid 1217132804, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
