It's Our Money
#itsourmoney Youth led direct democracy
The Girls' Circle
Name of Your Organization:
Girls Mentor Girls Inc.
Overview of the Project - Please provide a brief description of the project.
It is clear that so many youth are feeling fear and anxiety due to the many intense stressors they are living through: the multiple upheavals of our nation’s civil unrest, massive loss of life and financial instability brought on by the coronavirus pandemic are all taking a devastating toll on our youth’s emotional wellbeing. Providing mental health literacy can equip our youth with the knowledge and understanding that helps us navigate these anxieties effectively and responsibly, and serve as a guide to living a fuller and healthier life, being better able to take care of themselves, and to support their loved ones and their communities.
In keeping with our mission, Girls Mentor Girls will create an online space for young women of color to support them with acquiring the mental literacy to understand and manage their emotions and feelings. The space will be facilitated by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who will set a calming tone for participants and guide them through exercises and discussions that help them discover ways to share how current issues are impacting them emotionally, and discuss ways to invest in and prioritize their mental health. The group will meet twice weekly for 90 minutes, and engage in activities such as breathing exercises, stretching or meditation, and watching videos clips and literary work to promote deep conversations around topics like depression, anxiety, addiction, suicide, self-harm, identifying unhealthy relationships, with the goal of decreasing the stigma around mental illness and increasing health seeking efficacy. Group members will be encouraged to practice activities outside of the group meeting times that help mitigate anxiety such as yoga and journaling. In addition, we will ensure that an LCSW will offer office hours to participants to discuss any issues that may arise. Referrals will be made for additional behavioral health services when necessary. We will also provide participants with additional resources that support them with sustaining the practices independently that we’ve shared at the conclusion of the program.
Which of the following issues does your project address?
- Issue 1 - Addressing Mental Health
- Issue 2 - Preparation for College and/or Career
- Issue 3 - Youth Advocacy Promotion
[#1- Addressing Mental Health]
Youth Engagement - Please explain how you will engage youth in the planning and implementation of the project.
[Keeping in mind that each person is the expert of their own lives, Girls Mentor Girls will create a brave space where youth can be transparent about how their mental health has been impacted by their life experiences. Participants will be involved in choosing the topics to discuss and will be provided with opportunities to participate in running portions of the meetings.
Youth will be given the opportunity if they so choose, to research a topic that they would like to discuss based on a vote from group members and the facilitator will support him/her with preparing a slide/presentation. That youth will present her topic under the guidance of the facilitator making space for student voice and agency. All members will be invited to take part in the conversation. The participants will have the opportunity to develop and establish peer relationships, increase their quality of life from a felt sense of safety belonging, and improve self confidence.
Budget - Your total project budget must equal $20,000 to be placed on the ballot for a youth vote. Please provide a brief description of what the funds would be used for to successfully implement your project. You will also need to download, fill in, and attach a full budget using this template.
[The funds will be used to provide a fee for service salary for the LCSW to run biweekly group theme based workshops along with a youth specialist and development consultant. Additionally, the organization will use other consultants who are expert in their field to provide theme based workshops. Funding will also be used to provide youth who are participating with secure devices and headsets to allow them to be able to participate in the program without interruption and provide privacy when communicating. Youth participants will be provided with $25 stipends for attending each session as well as a customized Girls Mentor Girls tote bags, journals and pen sets. The rest of the budget will be used towards the final project.]
Timeline- Please describe the timeline for the implementation and completion of the project. All work for this project must be completed by June 30, 2021, which is the end of the city’s fiscal year and the deadline for the funds to be spent.
[ The program will begin recruiting and enrolling participants during the month of March. During that time we will purchase and distribute the materials that the youth would need to participate. The start date will be April 1, 2021 and the program will run for 3 months, concluding on June 30, 2021. ]
Project Activity Alignment - How does your project align with at least one of the following topics:
- Leadership skills development: organizing & advocacy trainings
- Stewardship of public spaces: public parks, transportation, etc.
- Youth and student engagement
- Civic education and advocacy
- Community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes
[The program will involve youth in selecting, presenting, and discussing issues that impact their daily lives and with developing skills to improve their mental health. The program will also target youth in underserved communities (Bronx, NY)]
What is your organization's area of focus?
- Children and youth related
- Advocacy and organizing
- Arts and culture
- Civic engagement
- Education and literacy
- Emergency management and disaster response
- Employment and workforce development
- Environment and sustainability
- Faith-based
- Food access
- Health and medicine
- Homelessness and/or affordable housing
- Human rights
- Human services
- Immigrants and/or refugees
- Justice related
- Legal services
- People with disabilities
- Senior services
- Women's issues
[Children and Youth]
Affirmations - Type "YES" below each statement to affirm that you are eligible to appear on the ballot for this process.
I confirm that my organization will be registered in the NYC Payee Information Portal and in PassPort, NYC’s online procurement system, in order to receive funding from the City of New York.
[Yes]
I confirm that my organization is able to front the costs of implementing this project. Organizations will be paid based on deliverables.
[Yes
Completion of Deliverables: I understand all deliverables must be completed by June 30th, 2021.
[Yes]
I understand a condition of funding includes submission of a final report upon project completion, and participating in a debrief session with the CEC.
[Yes]
This idea proceeds to voting because:
Thank you for your proposal submission! Based on our review, your proposal is eligible according to the project guidelines and will be placed on the ballot for the youth vote to take place in February. We may reach out if we need further information to prepare the ballot.
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Girls mentor girls is a WONDERFUL Organization.
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