‘Becoming Her’ Activity Allows Youth to Flex Creativity

May 12, 2025

When Mercy Home youth care worker Tillecia Robinson began planning an event for her friends and family that would allow women to network and share their experiences she had no idea it would also become a powerful opportunity for the some of the young people who live at our Girls Home to do the same.

Robinson called the event “Becoming Her” and designed it to create a space for professional women to connect and encourage each other. 

“Especially with women who are in the same fields or similar fields, there’s a lot of competition, a lot of gatekeeping, and I didn’t want that to be the narrative,” Robinson said.

When the young residents with whom Robinson works heard about the project a few years ago, they also wanted to participate. So, Robinson designed a version specifically for them. To build excitement, the youth were able to earn tickets in order to participate. In previous years, they created affirmation boards and had discussions around things like what brought them to Mercy Home, what they were working on during their time with us, and what were their experiences so far at the Home.

Because this is the third year Robinson organized a “Becoming Her” event for the young women in her care, she wanted to do something a little different than prior years. She offered them the opportunity to submit a short story, art piece, or book report based on the theme of influential women. She explained that she chooses the theme based on the needs of the small community in which the youth live. This year, she wanted to provide them with more opportunities to practice creativity.

Especially with women who are in the same fields or similar fields, there’s a lot of competition, a lot of gatekeeping, and I didn’t want that to be the narrative.
-Tillecia Robinson, Mercy Home youth care worker

Of all the youth in the program, Jessica, exceeded expectations and wrote a short story called “Sisters of Voice: A Journey of Dreams.” The story is about a group of young women who sing and hope to make a career out of music. But they are discouraged by their parents, as well as the larger community, because they aren’t fitting into the roles expected for them. However, with the encouragement of a grandmother, they end up becoming extremely successful and supporting other artists.

Jessica said that she was inspired to write this story by Robinson, who is her advocate at Mercy Home. (Each one of our young people is assigned an advocate or a coworker who serves as their go-to for any needs they may have).

“I based it off what Tillecia is doing, how she’s creating a safe space for women and teenagers and giving back,” Jessica said. “That’s what [the characters] did in the end—they sat with a group of teenagers, trying to lift them up and give back. Tillecia creates a safe space for women to talk about what’s going on without being judged. And I feel like not all people have that safe space. That’s a very good thing for her to do, so she’s very inspiring.”

Tillecia creates a safe space for women to talk about what’s going on without being judged. And I feel like not all people have that safe space.
– Jessica, Mercy Home resident

To celebrate Jessia’s great work, she won a pajama party in program with her peers, a cash prize, and an outing of her choice. She was also presented with a certificate and flowers.

“She was overjoyed,” Robinson said. “She had no idea about the prizes or anything.”

“I was very excited,” Jessica added. “I didn’t have my hopes up, so winning that was very exciting and I’m very proud of myself because it shows how hard work and dedication and determination come together and pays off.”

“I think it gives them a different space to see each other as people with experiences and trauma as opposed to someone just here [at Mercy Home] that they have to deal with,” she said. “It gives them the opportunity for more intentional interactions. It also gives my coworkers the chance to interact with youth in different ways. I love that we can all work together [on this]. It brings the whole house together.”

Congratulations to Jessica on her great work and thank you to Tillecia Robinson for organizing such an impactful and empowering event for our young women!