Sister Table Talk

Approximately, 1 in 54 children is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrem Disorder (ASD) in the United States. And, many parents, teachers, and caregivers are scrambling to understand: What is ASD? The cause of ASD The signs of ASD ASD symptoms If you're a parent, teacher, or caregiver of a child that may have ASD, the Autism 101 online course will guide you through these challenging questions. The SOFEI Group wants to provide you with information and resources to help you create a plan to support your child emotionally, physically, and academically. We believe that the more informed you are, the more equipped your child will be for success.

When you hear the word poverty , what's the first image you see or your first thought? Women and children in an impoverished country or women with polished nails holding a sign for help? If you could help a group of women living with poverty, which group would you choose and why? Poverty is more than having more bills at the end of the month than money. It's extreme, situational, institutional, or generational; making it difficult to create pathways to economic independence, wealth, and stability. When we seek support or investment in our work to decrease the trend of poverty amongst women throughout the Washington region, we often receive a plethora of reasons of why we shouldn't help them because their level of poverty isn't as severe as women experiencing poverty in other countries. A local pastor stated, You haven't seen poverty until you've been to a country where people have to drink and bathe in dirty water. Now, that's poverty. What we have h...

A fourteen year-old boy was stabbed to death in an effort to protect his mother from her live-in boyfriend. According to numerous sources, Prince George’s County has the highest rate of domestic violence cases in the state of Maryland; despite its recognition as one of the most affluent counties for African Americans. The mother praised her son for his efforts to protect her when she spoke outside Potomac High School – where her son attended. She described her relationship with her live-in boyfriend as a friendship and stated, “I think sometimes you never think that helping someone will end up in this matter.” Our paraphrase, she never thought her efforts to help someone would result in her son’s death. John Chapter 5 talks about a pool called Bethesda where sick people laid in wait for an angel to stir the pool water and whoever stepped in first would get healed from whatever disease they had. A man lying by the pool with an infirmity for thirty-eight years caught Jesus’ attent...

My parents raised me different. My parents told me, "Make sure you can take care of yourself," and I do. These women need to stop lying on their backs, making babies they can’t take care of. I’m not giving my money to support lazy women that don’t want to work. These statements are from single mothers who were approached by The SOFEI Group to help us achieve our mission of empowering women to economic independence. The single mothers were divorced, widowed, and a sole parent with a strong support system. What’s interesting is how proud they were to share their distinction without knowledge of our current and prospective clients. It will be impossible for women to thrive as a cohesive unit when we’re moved so swiftly to divide. Why talk about the wage gap between men and women or any other gaps that supposedly prevent women from progressing, when women allow social, political, financial, or ethnical differences create wedges? Many women who have experienced or are ...

Genesis 34 talks about a young virgin woman, named Dinah who “went out to see the daughters of the land” (Genesis 34:1). She was spotted by Shechem - a victim of lust at first sight , who took Dinah and violated her virginity (Genesis 34:2). A Jewel, such as Dinah, was defiled and violated because of Shechem’s strong sexual desire to have her (Genesis 34:3). In Hebrew, the definition of violated or defiled, means to be taken by force (i.e., raped). Shechem’s actions resulted in harm instead of satisfaction because Dinah’s brothers, Levi and Simeon lied, stole, and murdered for revenge. Dinah was a Jewel taken by force, but there are many women (Jewels) who voluntarily place themselves in the hands of Inexperienced Jewelers due to: Soft Spoken Words According to Genesis 34:3, Shechem spake kindly unto the damsel . Women can become prey to soft spoken words if they were raised in negative environments, were victims of verbal, emotional, or physical abuse and never heard or experience...

Growing up as a dark-skinned woman can be difficult. The teasing and caustic remarks can diminish a woman's self-esteem until they discover.... They came from the mind of God. In the secrecy of their mother’s womb, they were fearfully and wonderfully made. To live and fulfill God’s divine purpose and perfect will, with their shape, size, and beautiful skin shade. They are who they are, by God’s grace. They have strength, courage, and perseverance to run and finish their race. Their spirit has been quickened, they are no longer God’s enemy and Satan’s slave. By God’s unconditional love and power, they were raised from the carnal grave. As a chosen, redeemed, and predestined Saint, they know how to behave! Everything God created is good, and we were created to bring glory and honor to Him (Isaiah 43:7). We all have unique features and characteristics to fulfill God’s purpose. Whether we are light or dark, full or small figured, we should not allow ourselves to be vi...

While sitting in traffic one morning, a woman looked and commented about a dirty white car in her passenger lane. To further validate, she rolled her window down and discovered the white car was clean, and her car window was dirty. This experience is a valuable example about our minds. Our minds can be as clean or dirty as car windows depending on the environment or the number of times the car or windows are cleaned. Here are a few suggestions to get a clean mind: If you're a habitual negative thinker, get real with yourself and discover the root cause(s) Separate yourself from negative people and environments - even family members Watch what you feed your mind and determine its impact Read God’s word and meditate daily Become a non-conformist to the trends of the world Eat right and exercise to exert negative energy and get proper rest Forgive people that have wronged or hurt you and realize their actions could be a result of unhealed wounds or pain When a negative though...

At least I have a job – but it’s not rewarding, fulfilling, or impactful. At least I have a man – even though he’s married with children. At least I know dynamic, elitist people - but don’t have authentic connections. At least I go to church – but don’t have a spiritual connection to God. At least I’m liked – but you yearn for unconditional love and encouragement. At least I have a GED – but was born with potential beyond a general education. Energy exhausted striving for the least is a fast race to the bottom. If you’re going to run, strive for the top (i.e., your best). No one spends time practicing to enter a race with the intention to lose or end at the bottom.

According to Target Market News 16th annual report Buying Power of Black America , the expenditures of Blacks rose to $507 billion dollars. The top five expenditures were: Housing $203.8 billion Food $65.2 billion Cars/Trucks $29.1 billion Clothing $29.3 billion Health Care $23.6 billion Who or what is being empowered as a result of this Black Buying Power ? Is the employment gap among Blacks closing? Are the increasing numbers of disparities within the Black Community decreasing? Is the growing trend of poverty amongst low-income, women-led families being addressed? Is this buying power restoring or strengthening the Black family unit - a foundation in society? It appears the Buying Power of Blacks is generating economic stability and wealth outside of their communities. Yep! It's helping other Ethnic groups establish businesses in socially and economically disadvantaged communities (i.e., underserved Black Communities) for members of their group. And, this buying powe...

There are numerous women and girls that empower others to dominate their lives. Teenage girls give up their virginity to boys that don't understand their value or worth – in search of love and affection. Adult women put their dreams and aspirations on a 20-year hold to take care of their family - ending up broke or homeless due to divorce. Or, single mothers that expand their family when a large source of their household income is at the expense of public assistance or a social service agency. The list goes on and on and on..... For years, The SOFEI Group (formerly known as Virtuous Enterprises, Inc.) has provided services to enrich the quality of lives of women and girls. And, during these years, I've discovered programs and services are as effective as the people that want to invest in themselves to change the direction of their lives. Change starts within! This is where the power starts too - within the core of our being. For Women’s History Month , I’m calling women to recl...

CNN and AC360° did a special show on Black or White: Kids on Race . Kids’ views about race were conducted through a doll bias study to determine their racial beliefs, attitudes, and skin tone preferences. This segment brought back memories of the negative biases I experienced growing up as a dark skinned girl in the Washington region – biases I thought were diminished. And, I was shocked to see the percentage of negative connotations (e.g., dumb or mean child) associated with a darker hue and positive connotations (e.g., smart or nice child) associated with lighter skin tones. Every day kids teased me of my blackness and I was confused because I didn’t realize they were teasing me about my skin color. The teases became unbearable; and I would go home and look in the bathroom mirror, pray to God to make me lighter. When I opened my eyes and saw I was still dark, I cried even more and my self-esteem plummeted. My view of myself and skin color had a direct correlation to my fami...

Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me. (Isaiah 26:3) One of our clients has been without bipolar medication for months and has missed counseling sessions designed to help stabilize her mind and life because her monthly disability income exceeds her eligibility to receive medical and counseling assistance. Her inability to receive bipolar treatment is an impediment to her health, family, and prospective employers. Several studies show, African-American and Latino women experience a higher rate of depressive symptoms and psychological distress compared to white women due to a convergence of societal, biological, and socioeconomical factors. Some of the risk factors are: stress due to racial discrimination; health problems (e.g., hypertension and cardiovascular disease); educational attainment , single marital status , and being a working mother . Depression screening and prevention programs must take into account these and additional factors in order to be suc...

In 2006, VEINC donated "fully-loaded" Dell computers to eleven single mothers and one single student returning to school to complete their undergraduate or graduate degrees and online certification programs to advance their careers through our Computer Donation Initiative . This initiative was made possible after receiving a Capacity Building grant from the Washington Area Women's Foundation to establish a wireless network to share training resources with staff members, volunteers, and trainees. Recently, VEINC received updates from two donation recipients - Tracy Henry - a medical student in her final year at Georgetown University School of Medicine and Joetta Fluellyn - a single mother on how this initiative helped them achieve their educational goals. Tracy Henry shared: Prior to receiving the donated computer, she had to use computers at the school library which limited her access to computers and online study time. The donated computer allowed her to stu...

Job Hunting is a full-time job, and it’s amazing how lackadaisical many individuals approach job search until their bills pill up or state benefits end - creating a ‘reactive’ job search strategy out of anxiety and fear instead of a ‘proactive’ job search strategy out of desire and contribution. Seeking employment out of fear and anxiety will resonate during a job interview of any prospective employer. And, following are some tips to prevent you from landing a career that’s a mismatch to your core values, skills, and abilities. Return to Your First Love If you’re unemployed and your life only consisted of work, maybe your unemployment is a time to re-evaluate your life to determine your true values and passion. We were not created to simply work to pay bills, we were created to utilize our gifts and talents to bring glory and honor to God. Discover your Skills and Aptitude Many people are working in careers that are a total mismatch to their skills and abilities, vocational interest...