Reflect and Strengthen [About - Goals and Programming]

Create a safe space for girls and women to examine and explore issues in our lives, share our stories, heal from trauma, develop strategies for dealing with a wide range of issues and support each other as women.
Explore and analyze the ways that we have internalized oppression and the ways that we are purveyors of oppression. Some examples are:

Develop artistic expression skills created by personal experiences and social issues.
Provide a stimulating, educational environment to learn about true history and contemporary issues and develop the ability to critically analyze our environment and the world.
Nurture leadership, sisterhood, and the process of self-empowerment amongst low-income girls and women
Build community with people across the US and the world to collectively raise awareness and strategize against the structures which put people before profits and oppress people of color, poor people, women, children and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people.
Learn to prioritize our needs and wants, value art and spirituality over money and material goods, “learn to live simply, so others can simply live.” -Ghandi

Girl's Rap: support groups, guided by licensed counselors where internalized sexism and other barriers that keep girls and women from meeting their full potential are examined and broken while supporting each other and healing from life's traumas and experiences.
What's the 411: circles for young women to think critically about society, the world and history through social justice education while making positive change through organizing in collaboration with our communities.
Street Theater: Members create, direct and produce plays, which express our ideas, experiences and spirits through theater, spoken word, poetry, dance, music, hip hop, instruments, and visual art.

Our Sisters Behind the Wall: a project led by R & S members working with girls ages 14-16 who are incarcerated. The group will provide an environment for the girls to support each other, learn healthy decision-making skills and goal plans, as well as to better understand ways that racism, sexism and classism have created the situations that led to their incarceration.
School Based Reflect and Strengthen: R & S is in the process of building collaborations with several Boston Public Schools to implement our programming into the school day, nurturing the connections between education, mental health and art.

Reflect and Strengthen