Daily Inspiration: Meet Jasmine Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Young.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am Jasmine Young, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminology and law studies. I was an intern at a facility for young girls who had been sex trafficked.

The youngest young girl I worked with was 9 years old and that pierced my heart! I wanted to find a way to get in front of the young ladies before they were in this trap. R.H.O.D.A. Generation was birth from that moment on.

It means Raising Humble Obedient Daring Adolescents. The program was the first birth in my church home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s a mentoring program for young women ages 12-18 years old. I started with 5 young ladies at my church.

I moved to Durham, North Carolina May 2016 where I started R.H.O.D.A. Generation in June 2018 as an LLC. August 2021 R.H.O.D.A. Generation became a nonprofit. We currently have 15 young women a part of the Durham, NC chapter. R.H.O.D.A. Generation focuses on life skills that aren’t taught in school such as financial education, hygiene, sex education, resume writing, interview skills, how to create a nonprofit or LLC, etc.

The pillars of my organization are Empowerment, Sisterhood, and Community Service. R.H.O.D.A. Generation mentees participate in community service every quarter. We focus on giving back and really being a part of our community all while building a sisterhood to thrive on for a lifetime.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have had a few bumps in the road but I have an amazing board who helps make the processes seamless. Covid was one of the toughest struggles we faced. R.H.O.D.A. Generation has a session face to face once a month.

With Covid being a factor in 2020, our host space was shut down immediately in March. The world was shut down but that did not mean R.H.O.D.A. could shut down. These young women still needed us. In what became a virtual world, we then had to become virtual. This moment was tough because the girls were tired of virtual as that is what they were doing for school as well.

We still held the once-a-month sessions via Zoom. The attendance fluctuated often. We were finally able to go back into the building in September 2021. Since then our attendance and new mentees have skyrocketed.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My normal Monday through Friday, I work for a psychiatric hospital (my master’s degree is in mental health and wellness). I handle the business development side. I work with mental health professionals when they need to refer patients to our psychiatric facility.

I enjoy creating budgets for people on the side!

I absolutely enjoy being a mommy to my 10-year-old son. Three months out of the year, I am focused on football with him and my team takes over R.H.O.D.A. I am probably the loudest parent on the field cheering my boy on.

I am most proud of purchasing my very first home in the middle of a pandemic. I am very much a goal-oriented person. I planned to buy a home before 30 years old and I began saving in 2019 not knowing Covid was going to happen in 2020. I did purchase my home in November 2020.

What sets me apart is my determination and genuine character to help each youth I come across to reach their destination.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I learned that you have to shift with the times.

No, I did not want my organization to be virtual but I couldn’t stop! I had to change and make it happen until we could go back into the session. Never staying stagnant was huge for me! Always moving forward just thinking outside the box in order to make it happen!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.rhodageneration.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rhoda_generation
• Facebook: Rhoda Generation Mentor

Image Credits
Walter Jennette