Why Do We Need Programs for Young Black Women? Part 2

YouthREX supported netWORKING: A Young Black Women’s Mentorship Project, an initiative of Toronto’s Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre, to evaluate program impact. REX Blog is sharing reflections from participants on the themes that emerged, and including quotes from mentors who were asked to examine the impacts they witnessed for mentees, themselves, and the community.  

The need for Black women-focused programming within the community is so critical because it helps to address some of the unique challenges that we experience. We need more programs that are catering to Black women, and led by Black women, because the need to feel validated and represented must always remain a priority. 

Through programs like netWORKING, Black women can feel a sense of belonging, community, and genuine support. While it does make me happy to see that some programs do exist in the city, we certainly need more of a range to better meet the needs of so many Black women looking for programs that represent them.

WATCH this video from Women’s Health in Women’s Hands on the journeys of netWORKING program participants:

 As I envision my journey up to this point, I am so grateful that a program such as netWORKING exists. This program gave me the opportunity to explore and redefine myself. Young Black women have so much to offer, so much potential, and exciting futures to look forward to. But, to fully embody all these things, there needs to be the necessary support in place to guide young Black women on their path. 

What impacts have netWORKING program mentors experienced as a result of mentoring young Black women?

• Mariah Giscombe, netWORKING Mentor, Certified Life Coach, Author & Business Strategist: Mentoring young Black women has had a powerful impact on me, because it has allowed me to give back to my community by being the person that I needed – but didn’t have access to – when I was a young Black woman navigating the early stages of my life and business. During the mentorship experience, it was very humbling that my early personal and business missteps were now superpowers that I was able to use to guide my young sisters on their own journeys of personal and business transformation.

WATCH this video from Women’s Health in Women’s Hands on program participants’ hopes for young Black women: