What We Do
Programs
Blossom
Blossom Program for Girls (Blossom) addresses the needs of girls’ ages 11-21 that are in high-risk situations. Blossom provides guidance, life-skills and leadership training and educational services to all girls who live in high-risk environments marked by high crime rates, poverty, low-performing schools and escalating rates of HIV/AIDS among youth. Blossom encompasses the following five service areas: Counseling and Case Management, Educational Support Services, Life-Skills and Community Service Projects, Internships and Mentoring, Social and Recreation Activities.
Girls in Business Program
Girls in Business is an entrepreneurial program that provides career exploration guest speakers, workshops and field trips, job/business readiness skills, and part-time paid internships. Girls in Business is designed to equip young women and girls with the skills, work ethic, experience and self-confidence needed to become financially independent, successful, empowered young entrepreneurs. Girls in Business is divided into two distinct age-appropriate job readiness program phases. Girls in Business I for younger participants (13–15 year olds) focuses on career exploration, the basics of entrepreneurship and financial management. Girls in Business II for older participants (16–21 year olds), focuses on professional skills development, on-the-job training internships and entrepreneurship.
Be the Change Advocacy and Leadership Program
Be the Change Advocacy and Leadership Program (Be the Change) participants organize and speak out about the violence and poverty that impacts the lives of girls and women of color. The goals of the program are to provide a safe place where young women speak freely and learn about their personal power. Be the Change helps young women recognize the importance of establishing personal boundaries, particularly in regard to their bodies, and use their voices to advocate for the rights of women and girls throughout the Bedford-Stuyvesant community. The program focuses on a three-pronged approach to addressing the issue of violence against girls and women: peer outreach, community engagement and political advocacy.
You Are My Mirror Image (YAMMÍ):
A Young Woman’s Project
The YAMMÍ Project is a peer education project that serves African-American and Latina young women between the ages of 17-22 who live in Central Brooklyn who may engage in risky sexual behaviors that place them at high-risk of HIV infection or are unaware of their status. YAMMI engages the community, outreaches to youth and their families, creates partnerships with health departments, community-based organizations, direct service agencies and provides education and information about the prevention of HIV\AIDS, STI’s and teen pregnancy. The project builds the capacity within individuals to value their own worth and leads young women to not only support safer sexual behavior practices for others but for themselves as well.
