HISTORY
History of Mr. Ed’s Circle of Trust, Inc.
dba Elevating Trauma to Trust
Snapped. Shifted. Solid.
The story of Mr. Ed’s Circle of Trust, Inc. begins with a single, defining snap—the moment Dr. Franklin Edward Shoemaker witnessed firsthand how trauma fractures lives, families, and futures. Over three decades ago, in the early 1990s, that realization ignited his lifelong commitment: to meet people at the point of fracture and guide them through shift to unbreakable solid ground.
Affectionately known as “Mr. Ed,” Dr. Shoemaker (PhD, LMHC, QS, TF-CBT, Adoption Competent) has dedicated his career to Healing Hearts and Building Forever Families. Starting with vulnerable children and families facing adoption challenges, attachment wounds, and complex trauma, he specialized in trauma-focused interventions that honor the full story of survival while rebuilding trust one relationship at a time.
A pivotal milestone came in 2011, when Dr. Shoemaker was nominated for the Irene Sullivan Adoption Advocacy Award in Pinellas County, Florida. Recognized as an unsung hero, this honor celebrated his tireless work transitioning children from foster care to permanent, loving homes—often in the toughest cases marked by deep relational breaks and attachment disruptions. It was clear evidence that Snapped moments could become the foundation for profound shifts toward solid futures.
In 2016, Dr. Shoemaker earned his PhD, deepening his expertise and marking a bold evolution. Inspired by faith-centered principles and a drive for Purposeful Healing, he founded Mr. Ed’s Circle of Trust, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Lakeland, Florida—evolving from his earlier work with Mr. Ed’s Family & Education Intervention Services Inc. The organization was created to deliver specialized therapeutic services, comprehensive behavioral health assessments, and family support programs that truly Piece Together Solutions—transforming pain into purpose.
Through close partnership with Shoemaker Consulting & Treatment Group PLLC—co-led by Dr. Shoemaker and Tonya A. Sharrett-Shoemaker, M.A.—the mission expanded in the mid-2020s. This collaboration merged decades of clinical excellence, educational insight, and coalition-building to provide seamless, trauma-informed care: attachment-focused therapy, TF-CBT, adoption-competent interventions, in-person and telehealth services (via Doxy.me), and resources that rise above politics to unite rather than divide.
Key milestones in this journey include:
2016-2018: Launch of core programs in trauma recovery and adoption support, serving families across Polk, Pinellas, and surrounding counties—turning individual snaps into collective strength.
2020s: Swift adaptation to virtual services amid global challenges, ensuring Healing Hearts continued without interruption for remote clients.
2024-2025: Launch of the Substack newsletter under the Elevate Minds Above Politics banner—delivering Facts. Focus. Fire. through bold, evidence-based insights and tools for generational healing and ethical renewal.
Today, in 2026, Mr. Ed’s Circle of Trust, Inc. stands at the threshold of its next powerful chapter. Under the bold new branding of Elevating Trauma to Trust: Snapped. Shifted. Solid., we continue to guide individuals, adoptive families, and communities from the raw fracture of trauma through intentional rebuilding to unshakeable wholeness.
What began as a response to broken trust has become a movement: honoring every snap, facilitating every shift, and forging lives that are forever solid.
The history isn’t just dates and achievements—it’s proof that transformation is possible.
Your story can be rewritten here.
Step into the circle.
The shift awaits.