Below you will find our Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter & FAQ
Statement of solidarity with Black Lives Matter
Words are not seeming enough these days given how broken open we're feeling, by both the beauty and pain of life. Words clearly aren't enough when it comes to deconstructing systemic oppression and violence - the perpetuation of deep seated racism, unfolding pandemic, and continued exploitation of our precious earth. Now we find ourselves both masked and unmasked, shouting ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
We are grateful to the leadership of the Black community calling us in to reflect, learn, and take action in these times. As educators, it is our responsibility and opportunity to engage youth in this dialogue, and how we can use our power to create a more just world. Whether we like it or not, whether we understand our complicity or not, our history lives in us. How do we meet this moment with love and courage? It takes each of us calling ourselves in, and it takes community.
We must commit again and again to not just disapprove of, but actively dismantle systems of power and privilege that oppress and destroy lives - especially black lives - and dominate our living earth. We are planting the seeds of a new story in and with the young people. A story of restoration, love in action, unity in diversity, honoring all life - a story worth living into. We each have a part to play and a responsibility to the whole. Our identities, experiences and cultures will shape the way that each of us fights for equity and inclusion. As Maya Angelou so graciously states: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
We teach our girls to know their own hearts, find their voices, and use it for good - to not shy away from uncomfortable conversations. As we reflect on our work with girls, young women, and their families, here are some ways we commit to using our power and voices to create spaces that are explicitly anti-racist and truly include families of color, particularly Black families:
In solidarity and love,
Emily & Quetzal
Spring 2020
We are grateful to the leadership of the Black community calling us in to reflect, learn, and take action in these times. As educators, it is our responsibility and opportunity to engage youth in this dialogue, and how we can use our power to create a more just world. Whether we like it or not, whether we understand our complicity or not, our history lives in us. How do we meet this moment with love and courage? It takes each of us calling ourselves in, and it takes community.
We must commit again and again to not just disapprove of, but actively dismantle systems of power and privilege that oppress and destroy lives - especially black lives - and dominate our living earth. We are planting the seeds of a new story in and with the young people. A story of restoration, love in action, unity in diversity, honoring all life - a story worth living into. We each have a part to play and a responsibility to the whole. Our identities, experiences and cultures will shape the way that each of us fights for equity and inclusion. As Maya Angelou so graciously states: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
We teach our girls to know their own hearts, find their voices, and use it for good - to not shy away from uncomfortable conversations. As we reflect on our work with girls, young women, and their families, here are some ways we commit to using our power and voices to create spaces that are explicitly anti-racist and truly include families of color, particularly Black families:
- We know that addressing discrimination requires ongoing attention and care to make sure we get things right. We commit to fight harder to support our girls of color, especially black girls, and to better understand what they need.
- 3 free spaces for our "Summer Online Series" to self-identified girls of color.
- 5 reduced fee spaces for our school-year-long program to self-identified girls of color.
- We are donating a % of our annual income ongoing to the BLM movement.
- Additionally every group will have a fund, and choose what anti-racist cause to donate it to at the end of the year.
In solidarity and love,
Emily & Quetzal
Spring 2020
Frequently Asked Questions
Who leads the girls groups?
Our girls groups are led by the founding director of Love Your Nature, Emily Frost, and co-director Quetzal Francois. Together they draw on over 20 years of experience working with teens and families. Some workshops are led by our apprentice, Isabella Masterson. You can learn more about them HERE.
Is this therapy?
No. We are not licensed therapists and as such offer this work as "mentoring" "guiding" and "girls empowerment coaching". Though we have training in various therapeutic modalities, and girls often say what we do "feels like therapy", we do not practice therapy. We offer highly skilled facilitation of girls groups, workshops and retreats, as well as offer 1:1 sessions for teens, young women and parents. We are happy to provide referrals for licensed practitioners upon request. Our enrollment materials explain the difference between what we do and psychotherapy.
What do you mean by "girls"?
We understand gender identity to be fluid and expressed in many ways. Our programs welcome teens along the gender spectrum who are assigned female at birth and/or socialized female. We are skilled working with teens along the gender spectrum, including cis girls, gender-questioning, and non-binary teens. All sexual orientations are welcome and celebrated. Questions or concerns welcome, every story is different.
How do I know if this is for my daughter?
If after exploring our website, you still aren't sure if our offerings would be a good fit for your daughter, please contact us and request a free 20 minute consultation call. Every group is different and within certain agreements we are happy to share more about the details for a specific group. Make sure to show them some testimonials and watch the videos!
Is there something I can show my daughter? Can she hear from girls who have worked with you?
Yes! We recommend showing your daughter the specific page for whatever she or you are wishing to sign up for, first. Watch some of our videos to hear what girls are saying. Then, we strongly recommend having her read some of the testimonials written by our girls. These are written specifically for new girls considering joining us :) Read testimonials HERE.
This might sound like a weird question, but are the girls you work with "normal"? What kinds of girls do you work with? Will my daughter fit in?
We are asked all the time. Yes, we work with "normal" girls as well as girls who might not be considered "normal". We aim to create a strong container that welcomes all youth as they are, for who they are. We work to normalize all our experiences as shared human experiences, even though we all have our own journey. We strive to create diverse yet cohesive groups of girls for all our offerings. For our ongoing girls groups, workshops, and retreats, our enrollment looks something like this...
Most common are girls who:
We are also qualified to work with and welcome girls who:
In an average girls group, 40% receive some sort of discounted tuition due to financial hardship.
In an average girls group, 40% are youth of color or mixed race youth.
We are always striving to create more diversity and inclusion in our offerings.
This is a short answer to a great question. If you are still not sure if this is for your daughter, please contact us and we'll get back to you :)
- Wish for stronger more trustworthy friendships
- Would greatly benefit from skillfully led conversations around complex and taboo topics
- Need help dealing with stress & anxiety
- Struggle with the impact of social media and media in general in their lives
- Feel a lot of pressure to be XYZ in their life and need a space they can be truly authentic in and just take off the masks
- Are needing a girl-centered space that is free of drama, cliques and judgment
- Are exploring their sexuality and gender identity
- Are clearly exhibiting "risk taking behaviors" and need non-parental guidance
- Are not yet exhibiting "risk taking behaviors" but would benefit from being part of a well held group that shares intelligent and self-respecting conversations about those behaviors / choices.
We are also qualified to work with and welcome girls who:
- Are recovering from self-harm, eating disorders, or who have been but are no longer suicidal
- Have returned from residential or wilderness treatment programs and are seeking reintegration
- Have struggled with serious hardship including but not limited to abuse, homelessness, addiction...
In an average girls group, 40% receive some sort of discounted tuition due to financial hardship.
In an average girls group, 40% are youth of color or mixed race youth.
We are always striving to create more diversity and inclusion in our offerings.
This is a short answer to a great question. If you are still not sure if this is for your daughter, please contact us and we'll get back to you :)
Are you a non-profit? Where do my contributions or "donations" go?
We are not a non-profit. We are a teeny tiny love powered partnered-LLC. We are Emily and Quetzal and our small but mighty support team. We are our families and our community. The cost of all our offerings covers all the basics (insurance, permits, licenses, supplies, space rental...) as well as a reasonable income for your facilitators. All contributions go directly into our Tuition Assistance Fund for teens and families facing financial hardship. We also offer a "Pay It Forward" option for all PayPal transaction, which also go directly to supporting teens who would not normally have access to this important work. We have a non-profit fiscal sponsor, Youth Passageways, with whom we run formal fundraising campaigns with. If you are seeking to gift a larger donation outside of a sponsored campaign and would like to request a tax deduction, please let us know!
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In girls' own words:
"You've given me a safe space to truly be myself and in the process, discover who I am." - R.K. |
