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Category: Events

Sew Great! Group Celebrates Major Success

Oct. 31 2014 | Tags: , , , , ,

On October 23rd, the women from the Sew Great! Program were joined by AFG staff and volunteers to celebrate their completion of a 100 bag order for the Art’s My Bag project. For the past five weeks, the women have been hard at work completing the order for Art’s My Bag, which is a project that will donate bags filled with art supplies to kindergartners in Detroit to promote creativity and participation in the arts. Roughly six weeks ago, Art’s My Bag creator, Lois Cohn, recruited AFG to produce 100 canvas bags. The order allowed the group to purchase supplies to produce the bags and to supply the women in the group with a weekly stipend. Additionally, she provided a donation to launch Sew Great!, a weekly commercial sewing employment training program headed by volunteers and support staff.

The order of 100 bags was Phase 1 of a pilot program that grew from exploring ideas for a social enterprise at AFG so that girls and women can learn valuable employment skills and create goods they can sell to support themselves and their families. “I don’t really have an income, so getting something that can help me pay my bills is great,” Tina, a Sew Great! member shares. “I had just gotten a shut off notice a week before we started, for my lights and gas, and I was able to pay it down with the money I got from Sew Great!”
During the celebration, the women of Sew Great! held a fashion show to give the staff and volunteers a sneak peek on their next venture, making scarves for an upcoming craft show in Dearborn Heights and others around metro Detroit. The women proudly showed off the fleece scarves they plan to sell, in a variety of colors and prints. This will begin Phase 2 of the pilot training project.
After they each received certificates of achievement, the women shared what being a part of Sew Great! and its most recent project has meant to them. Click here to read more. “Sew Great! has improved my self-confidence, which was very low, because now I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to,” shared one woman. The women have also learned a lot during the classes and throughout this project that will help them in their future endeavors. “Something I’ve learned that I will use in the future is patience, because it takes a lot of patience to sew. That is something I didn’t have before I started Sew Great!,” April, another Sew Great member, shared.
There were some more difficult aspects to the project as well. “Working with the other women was challenging because I stay to myself a lot. So, it was a great experience being around other women, especially ones from other cultures,” April shared. Tina agreed and further explained, “Learning to communicate [with the other participants] was challenging, because of the language difference. But we listened to Spanish CDs and had Spanish translations written down to help us communicate.” During Sew Great! meetings, AFG staff members, Leonor, Berta, Gabriella, and Marta, took turns and joined the group to translate important information to the group’s Spanish speaking members to greater improve communication.
At the end of the celebration, all five women sat together, eating lunch and laughing. It was clear that through accomplishing this goal together, they had also grown closer together despite any challenges. For the women, working on this project and exploring their creative side while sewing apparel has had a lasting effect, “Sew Great! has helped me support myself and feel good about myself,” Tina bragged.
AFG would like to thank the volunteers who have dedicated their time to teaching and overseeing the sewing classes and those who donated sewing machines and fabric. If you are interested in supporting the Sew Great! women, they will be selling their scarves on November 7th and 8th at the craft show being held at the Eton Senior Center in Dearborn Heights from 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM.

AFG Dedicates Room to UAW-Ford

Oct. 31 2014 |

In the past year, members of the UAW-Ford National Programs Center have gone above and beyond to support the work of AFG. In June, they held a very successful fundraiser that raised $10,000 to support our Rise N’ Shine summer camp. Since then, they have supported AFG’s programs in many ways, from connecting AFG with other sources of support to going out of their way to drop off pumpkins for participants to carve and decorate. On Wednesday, October 22, Alternatives For Girls recognized this tremendous support by holding a room dedication ceremony to honor the UAW-Ford.

The room that was dedicated in honor of the UAW-Ford was the Transition to Independent Living (TIL) classroom. The TIL classroom is regularly used by the Shelter Department to hold life skills classes for the shelter residents. Topics covered include; career development, financial literacy, and healthy living. Because of the room’s heavy focus on educational advancement, the UAW-Ford team members decided to adopt the classroom and support the classes and programs that take place in the room.

UAW-Ford Vice President, Jimmy Settles, was in attendance for the ceremony, as well as roughly 35 other UAW-Ford members from the Benefits, JSP, Digital Media, and Special Projects Departments. After enjoying lunch, the group heard remarks from AFG CEO, Amy Good, a testimonial speech from a former Shelter resident, and finally from Alexis Cartwright, the Curriculum Coordinator for the TIL Program, who spoke first hand on how the room helps the young women she works with.

The UAW-Ford team has already compiled a list of needed items for the room and plan to donate needed supplies, give the room a face-lift, and schedule workshops about skilled labor. AFG would like to give a special thank you to Vaughan Tolliver, Jeff Faber, Gerard Coiffard, and Gregg Dunn who have been at the forefront of the projects that have helped the girls and women we serve.

AFG Blog: “I am possible!”

Sep. 30 2014 | Tags: , ,

On September 23rd, Joy, a Shelter resident, gave this speech at AFG’s “Planting Roots” event.

Hello my name is Joy Evans.

21 years ago I celebrated my first birthday in a women’s battered shelter. At the age of 15 I entered into my first youth homeless program by choice, due to my mother’s neglectful behavior. Throughout my life my mother struggled with addiction which made it hard for her to provide for me. I relied on many shelter programs in several different states throughout my teen years. At the age of 20 I became involved with Alternatives For Girls. I was homeless and found out I was pregnant. I knew I needed to obtain resources to maintain financial independence, and gain life and parenting skills. I needed assistance with prenatal care, a safe place to help with my pregnancy, and education on newborn care.

Once I became a resident at Alternatives For Girls I obtained proper insurance, prenatal vitamins, and scheduled prenatal appointments with an OB/GYN. In August, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl! Since beginning this new chapter of motherhood I still rely on the support system and resources at AFG. While at AFG I was able to obtain a job, save up money, and I am currently transitioning into my own apartment! I will also be attending online college in the winter to obtain my associates degree. I am now on a new path to maintain a stable life for me and my daughter.

My future plans are to have two jobs when my daughter enters Head Start. Attend university when my daughter enters elementary and earn a master’s degree before she enters high school. By the time she enters middle school I would like to buy my first house which will be my family home and I hope to have it paid off by the time she graduates college and pass it down to her. Because I don’t have a family home to visit, I would love to be able to provide that to her. I love to give and teach to others and I strive to be the solution to many social problems such as high school drop outs and youth homelessness. I feel passionate about these issues because I overcame them myself, and as a result, I’ve had so many opportunities and doors open for me.

Thanks to the supportive staff members at AFG, especially the shelter director Ms. Carolyn, the shelter manager Ms. Shelia, and my case planner Ms. Carmen, I’ve been able to utilize the skills I’ve learned in order to maintain an independent lifestyle. In the last 9 months, I’ve completed the goals I set for myself when I came to AFG: obtaining a job, saving money, and finding my own apartment! I would like to thank AFG for allowing me into the program. Over time I’ve learned “when you think something is impossible… simply say I AM POSSIBLE!” Thank you.

2014 Rise N’ Shine Finale

Aug. 28 2014 | Tags:

After six weeks of fun and educational workshops, making new friends, and trying new things during weekly offsite field trips, our Prevention Department’s summer camp, Rise N’ Shine celebrated another successful summer with its end of the summer finale on August 8th. The finale is meant to highlight what the participants have learned and accomplished during the camp and this year the participants showed off a ton of new talents.

The finale began with lunch and the viewing of display tables from the camp’s workshops. At the baking workshop table, the participants shared three different types of chocolate bark, a homemade chocolate candy with yummy toppings. A poster board displayed with the delicious dessert shared what the girls had learned in the workshop, with tips like, “Read the recipe first or you could make a big mistake!” and what they liked most about baking, “You get to have a tasty treat and you get to make desserts with your friends,” one girl shared. Throughout the finale, each girl excitedly shared the sweet treat with her family and friends. “My aunt didn’t believe that I helped make this!” one new baker exclaimed.

After lunch, Berta Malec, Family Services Case Planner, introduced the main event, a rendition of the musical Annie to be put on by all of the Rise N’ Shine participants. A result of the Turning Books into Plays workshop, the girls learned different portions of the musical that, when performed together, allowed the girls to seamlessly tell the entire story. After weeks of preparation and practice, each group excitedly and enthusiastically preformed their parts, with short breaks of applause in between scenes. For the final scene, all of the girls joined the stage and gave a sterling rendition of “Tomorrow”, with huge smiles on their faces.

Before it was time to say goodbye, each participant was recognized for her accomplishments in the award ceremony. The youth leaders called up the girls they helped supervise all summer and proudly awarded them a certificate of completion. Along with their certificates, each girl received a copy of the 2014 Rise N’ Shine yearbook. Created by the 11-14 year old group, this year’s book had a super heroes theme. The colorful yearbook included photos of each girl, quotes from participants, and fun pictures of workshops and field trips. After the ceremony ended, the girls excitedly asked their friends to sign their books while saying their final goodbyes. “I will always remember the youth leaders and all of my friends”, proclaimed one girl. Indeed, thanks to Rise N’ Shine, it was a summer the participants will never forget.

Face Forward: A new program at AFG serves youth with juvenile involvement

Aug. 28 2014 | Tags: , ,

In January 2014, our Outreach and Education Services Department launched a new program funded by the Department of Labor, Face Forward. The goal of the new program is to help improve the long-term employment prospects of youth in the juvenile justice system. The program serves youth between the ages of 16 – 24, who had a juvenile offense when they were under the age of 18, by helping the youth continue their education and find gainful employment. “The whole purpose of the program is to prevent youth from entering into the adult justice system. The goal is for them to become employable, and to help them move beyond their juvenile offense. This program will empower them to become successful adults,” shares Tyresha Robinson, Case Planning Services Manager of Face Forward.

Face Forward will reach these goals by working with the youth in a variety of ways. First, the program will provide individual case management services to its participants. These sessions will help the youth with goal setting, education and employment, obtaining a driver’s license and housing if necessary, and assist them to reunite with their family.

The second component of the program is to connect youth with vital resources. Primarily, staff members will help link the youth with GED classes and testing, as well as job placement. In addition to this, participants will receive help exploring their career options through job certification programs. Youth will be able to explore different careers by attending trainings in the following fields: customer service, computer network technology, global logistics and dispatch, nursing, commercial driving, and more. After completing training, the participants will receive a certification, which will improve their chances of finding sustainable employment.

Finally, the program will give participants the opportunity to be matched with a volunteer mentor. The mentors will have the opportunity to develop a one-on-one relationship with a youth in the Face Forward program by providing additional support and encouragement to achieve the goals the youth have set for themselves. Face Forward is currently seeking adults to become mentors to youth in the program. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a mentor at Alternatives For Girls, please contact Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Mentor Coordinator, at 313-361-4000 x326 or gsantiago@alternativesforgirls.org.

AFG Joins National Campaign to Fight Child Trafficking in the United States

Aug. 28 2014 | Tags: , , ,

Within 48 hours of running away, a young person is likely to be solicited for prostitution or another form of sexual exploitation [1]. Alternatives For Girls fights this exploitation and trafficking by conducting nighttime and early morning street-based outreach to connect with girls and young women who are homeless, engaged in sex work, or possible victims of trafficking. Through providing resources, a snack, and safe choices, Alternatives For Girls lets these girls and young women know that they are not alone.

Alternatives For Girls is excited to announce that we’ve joined a national movement, Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives (EKEG), in a campaign to raise money to help fight child trafficking in the United States. This initiative is uniting nonprofits, foundations, celebrities and other influencers around the nation to raise $1 million dollars in 24 hours on September 16, 2014. With the leading crowdfunding platform for causes, Razoo, EKEG is engaging Americans across the country to take action and support the critical work these nonprofits do every day to protect our children. All monies raised will support the work of the participating nonprofits.

Want to help support Alternatives For Girls in the fight against human trafficking? Here’s what you can do:

  • Create your own Razoo fundraising page to raise money for Alternatives For Girls on Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives Day, September 16th.
  • Help spread the word about Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives Day and Alternatives For Girls on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.
  • Donate directly to Alternatives For Girls through our Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives Razoo page by scheduling or making a donation on September 16.

We invite you to be part of this important cause by lending your support to the campaign and to join us on September 16 to reach our goal of raising $1,000 for Alternatives For Girls. Together we can help empower young girls across the U.S. to take their lives back, and put an end to child sex trafficking in the U.S. for good. Keep a lookout for our progress and other updates about Everyone’s Kids, Everyone Gives Day on our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages.

[1] Family and Youth Services Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Community Dinner Focuses on Relationship Building Between Staff and Participants

Jul. 30 2014 | Tags: ,

This year, our Shelter Department began holding a new event called Community Dinner. The dinners are a new addition to Community Group, a mandatory, therapeutic group that meets every Thursday and uses adventure therapy to give participants a space for meaningful dialog on topics such as healthy relationships, communication, and conflict resolution. Community Group has created a positive space for young women to share and grow together, but there was a need for a different type of event, which would allow staff and residents to bond on a more personal level. As a result, Community Dinner was formed.

Community Dinner occurs the last Thursday of every other month during the time that Community Group usually occurs. The dinners began with the goal of allowing staff and residents to build rapport in a more low-key environment. Each dinner includes a theme, a dinner for residents and staff, fun activities, and a time for residents to be recognized for their accomplishments.  So far, there have been three dinners: a karaoke night, an obstacle course, and the most recent dinner, a casino night. “A lot of what we do as staff is focused on jobs, school, and holding the girls accountable for things they need to do. So this is a time to build connections and trust in a more fun environment and a place where we recognize their accomplishments as well,” Erika Fox, Counseling Curriculum Coordinator, explains.

Shelter staff members encourage residents to participate in the dinners by allowing them to take an active role in planning each dinner. “They plan the activities and theme for each dinner. So, they plan activities, they brainstorm to come up with a theme and the food that they want and then they come up with tasks for preparing for the dinner,” Erika shares. The dinners are also a way for residents to build confidence in planning and executing something, communication skills, and a sense of community. “They are learning that it’s okay if we don’t always get along but we still need to learn how to work together as a team to accomplish our goals. These are all topics that we focus on in Community Group, as well,” Erika adds.

Heather, a current shelter resident, has attended two of the dinners so far and has really enjoyed the experience. “The food is great, it seems like it is really prepared with a lot of love. I like that we are all able to be together having fun, laughing, and having a positive time,” she answers when asked what her favorite part of the dinners is. “We all put a lot of hard work into it so it’s nice to enjoy all of the hard work we did,” Heather adds. So far, after only three meetings, Community Dinner has already started to have an impact on the environment in the Shelter, according to Heather. “It’s way more comfortable now and it brings us together and allows positivity”, Heather shares. “It allows us to come together and forget everything else that’s going on. I think it’s great”. As for the next dinner, Heather says there is already excitement building for what is to come, “I heard rumors that it’s going to be Hawaiian themed,” Heather smiles.

AFG Works to Fight Youth Homelessness with Regional Alliance

Jul. 30 2014 | Tags: , , , , ,

Nationally, approximately 30,000 youth under the age of 18 are homeless and on their own for more than a week every year. [1]

Within 48 hours of running away, a young person is likely to be solicited for prostitution or another form of sexual exploitation. [2] 

Youth ages 13-24 are the least likely of any age group to know that they are infected with HIV. [3]

These are just a few of the staggering statistics about runaway and homeless youth that show the great need for programs that focus on ending the cycle of homelessness and poverty for our nation’s youth.

Here in Detroit, Alternatives For Girls is the only organization uniquely serving girls and women through shelter, outreach and prevention services. In this way, we are working to provide a holistic approaching to ending youth homelessness. As the statistics show, the problem of youth homelessness is vast and needs a broad approach if we hope to solve it. This is why Alternatives For Girls has teamed up with three other agencies in the community with the hope of reaching more individuals and providing a wide array of resources.

Alternatives For Girls, Common Ground, Ruth Ellis Center, and Starfish Family Services have come together to create the Runaway and Homeless Youth Regional Alliance (RHY Regional Alliance). The RHY Regional Alliance is dedicated to providing safe places where youth can access food, shelter, and short and long-term support to help them become self-sufficient and live independently.

The RHY Regional Alliance was created to help serve youth by focusing on building a strong infrastructure for the four partner organizations to better work together. It aims to improve data collection and sharing of information amongst the agencies and to carry out joint efforts to increase public awareness about the challenges faced by disconnected youth in Southeast Michigan.

The four agencies are all focused on the broad goal of serving runaway and homeless youth, but they each have different areas of expertise. The goal of the alliance is to bring these different strengths together to form a powerful partnership.

Alternatives For Girls has gender-specific knowledge and experience in meeting the needs of girls and young women. Our mission is to help homeless and high-risk girls and young women to avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation, and help them to explore and access the support, resources and opportunities necessary to be safe, to grow strong, and to make positive choices in their lives.

Common Ground has expertise in mental health and crisis counseling. Its core purpose is helping people move from crisis to hope.

Ruth Ellis Center has expertise in serving lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Its mission is to provide short-term and long-term residential safe space and support services for runaway, homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth in Detroit and Southeastern Michigan.

Starfish Family Services focuses on healthy child development with a service model that recognizes children ultimately depend on strong families and strong communities to succeed. Primary programming areas include early childhood development, mental health and counseling, family supportive services, and youth services.

Alternatives For Girls is proud to be a member of the RHY Regional Alliance and is committed to using this collaborative effort to further our mission of helping homeless and high-risk youth to grow strong and to make positive choices in their lives.

[1] National Alliance to End Homelessness

[2] Family and Youth Services Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

[3] Family and Youth Services Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Volunteer Groups Make Positive Impact at AFG

Jul. 1 2014 | Tags: ,

This month AFG has been buzzing with several volunteer groups donating their time to projects around the agency. Sixty volunteers from five different groups worked on projects such as painting, organizing the clothing closet, and renovating the Arts & Crafts room. Melody Moore, Volunteer Services Manager, caught us up on everything that’s been going in the Volunteer Department in the month of June.

On June 5th, a group from the Ford Motor Company Volunteer Corps kicked off the month. “We applied for a Ford mini-grant for a volunteer project and it was approved in April. Part of that grant included a group of volunteers who would come and do some community service at AFG,” Melody explains. Throughout the day, nine Volunteer Corps members helped install four new raised beds in our garden and painted the child care room.  “These volunteer projects are important because they give the community a chance to be involved and invested in AFG while at the same time brightening up the encounters the young women we serve have while at AFG,” Melody shares.

This positive impact continued on June 17th when 40 UAW Ford International Benefit Representatives volunteered during a daylong community service project. “UAW Ford Vice President, Jimmy Settles, believes that you should participate in the community because as you advance, you should bring others up with you,” Joe Guccairdo, UAW Ford International Benefit Representative, explains. Because the International Benefit Reps were all in town, the group decided it would be a great time to get together and give back to the community. Once they decided on doing community service, they then started searching for an organization.

Joe and his fellow International Benefit Reps first heard about AFG during a UAW Ford meeting where each department talks about what projects (community service and work related) they are working on. “Vaughan Tolliver, one of our co-workers, did a presentation about the benefit they are hosting for AFG on June 28th, and that was it. We found what we wanted to do,” Joe shares. “There was such a need and AFG doesn’t have the attitude of ‘Let’s fix everything in one day,’ but rather putting girls and young women on the right path,” Joe continues.

Throughout their day at AFG, the Reps helped organize the clothing closet, put together hygiene kits, decorated the child care room, landscaped, cleaned up the lots surrounding AFG, and much more. “The impact that these volunteer projects will have on AFG will be lasting because they produce an environment change which creates a more conducive developing climate for our participants,” Melody shares. This impact was evident after the Reps finished their projects and left for the day. Not only did AFG look different, but staff and participants alike commended the volunteers for all that they were able to accomplish in just one day.

The next three volunteer groups, all different Girl Scout Troops, will be renovating the library by painting and reorganizing it with new book shelves, the Arts & Crafts room with new shelving and donated art supplies, and the shelter visitor room. Once these projects are complete, there will still be more work to be done around AFG for future volunteer groups. “We need help with community clean-ups, we have some scheduled in August, where we will be focusing on areas around our building. So we will need volunteers who have lawn mowers or riding lawn mowers that can come out and help,” Melody explains. “In addition to this, we really need individuals who want to help with our family literacy project where we are working to improve reading among families.” For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact Melody Moore at volunteering@alternativesforgirls.org or (313) 361-4000 x 280.

The Dedicated Youth Leaders of Rise N’ Shine

Jul. 1 2014 | Tags: , ,

Starting on July 1st, AFG’s halls will be filled with the sights and sounds of our Prevention Department’s annual summer camp, Rise N’ Shine (RNS). Three days a week, from 9am-3pm, approximately 75 girls between the ages of 4-14 participate in fun and educational workshops and field trips. This memorable six week camp is something that participants look forward to every summer and its existence wouldn’t be possible without the help from a very essential group, the Youth Leaders. The ten Youth Leaders hired this summer will assist in the programs’ execution by supervising RNS participants throughout their multiple workshops, helping cook and serve meals and snacks, and making sure that the participants are having fun throughout the day.

Youth Leaders must be between the ages of 16-21, have a 2.5 or higher Grade Point Average, must be currently enrolled in school, and have a number of other qualifications. “Youth Leaders must be flexible, have the ability to work in a team setting, have a positive attitude, and have the skills to work with younger children,” explains AFG Youth Services Coordinator, Tiffany Edwards, who will be supervising the Youth Leaders this summer. The benefits of being a Youth Leader are a weekly stipend and weekly trainings on topics such as positive youth development, employability skills, goal setting, CPR & First Aid, and team building activities. This year the Youth Leaders are funded in part by the Village Women’s Club Foundation and City Connect Detroit’s Grow Detroit’s Young Talent Program.

Essence, a second year Youth Leader, said she is excited for another summer with RNS. “It started out as a summer job, but as the summer went on, I really started to like it. So that led me to apply again this year,” Essence explains. Every day at 8:30 AM the Youth Leaders arrive to start cooking breakfast and setting up for the day’s activities. After serving breakfast and making sure all of the youth are accounted for, the Youth Leaders guide the participants to their workshops and provide support to each workshop facilitator by taking participants to the bathroom, running errands, and assisting in activities to keep the girls energized. When it’s time for lunch, Youth Leaders help prepare and serve the food until it is time to take the participants to their afternoon workshops. At the end of the day, they help serve a snack while checking out each girl as they leave to go home.

The full day of activities allows each Youth Leader time to practice valuable skills that they can use in the future. “I’ve bettered my conflict resolution skills since becoming a Youth Leader,” Essence shares. “Over the school year I worked as a tutor in an elementary school, so a lot of the conflict resolution skills I learned were very useful because they are younger and are working on self-control.” Of course, there are challenges as well, “The most challenging thing is dealing with all of the different personalities, not just the girls but other Youth Leaders, too. We work together as a team so it’s important to get to know everyone’s personalities and attitudes,” Essence explains.

Being a Youth Leader in RNS still allows the young women to enjoy the summer while improving these skills. “My favorite part of RNS is being able to participate in the activities and the workshops that the girls participate in. They are really fun and I learned from them too,” Essence shares. “I really enjoy the field trips as well, it’s good to get away and have fun. And the girls really like them too,” she smiles. The hard work and dedication that the Youth Leaders exhibit does not go unnoticed by Tiffany, “The Youth Leaders are very important because without them I don’t think Rise N’ Shine would run as smoothly. They’re the ones who take the initiative and believe in our vision and execute the ideas we have. Without them, how would we do it?”

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