On Sunday, July 11th, residents of South Florida were able to tune their radios in to 99 Jamz, as host Supa Cindy interviewed Be Strong International’s CEO, Michelle Shirley. Watch the video below!
You can also read the entire interview below!
Supa Cindy
Good morning everybody. Welcome back to part two of Community Matters right here on 99 Jamz, Miami’s number one for Hip- Hop and R&B, home the Trick and Trina Morning Show.
Supa Cindy
It’s your girl’s Supa Cindy, and right now, let me introduce my guest co-host, Dr. Delvena.
Dr. Delvena
Hey, good morning Supa Cindy. Hey guys. This is Dr. Delvena, guest co-host on 99 Jamz Community Matters, where matters and the community matter. Hey guys, Happy Sunday again, and hey, Supa Cindy, this morning with us we have the CEO from Be Strong International. We have Mrs. Michelle Shirley, guys. You know that July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Being a psychiatrist, I’ll try not to make everything about the rain and everything about mental wellness. However, I’m going to tuck this in the category of mental wellness. What these folks are doing be strong international has partnered with Miami Dade County to implement project peace, peace stands for people engaged and advocating for community empowerment in the Gold’s community. Welcome to the show, CEO Shirley.
Michelle
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Dr. Delvena
Absolutely. You’ve been the CEO for Be Strong International since 2012. But you’ve been involved with this nonprofit organization since 2006. Is that correct?
Michelle
Yes. Yes, ma’am.
Dr. Delvena
All righty. And I see you’re a native you were born and raised here in Miami, Florida.
Michelle
Yes, you right here in Miami Gardens. Yes, ma’am.
Dr. Delvena
Okay, that’s what’s up. And so you’re the daughter of Jamaican parents who migrated to the United States in the late 1970s. And, and so I don’t want to make any assumptions, you know, what they say about making assumptions and assuming things. But I think that maybe based on your, your childhood and your timeline that you have a passion for what you do, because of your your own personal history. Is that safe to say?
Michelle
Yes, yes. It’s been an amazing journey. And sometimes I think, as you know, you go through certain traumas and experiences, and you don’t realize how much it’s part of your destiny, and what you’re supposed to do later in life. And so, as my parents did get here, they did end up going through a divorce. And it was a bit a bit disturbing, as a young teen, going into high school going through that, but somehow just learning to you know, overcome those situations and became focused on school and really wanted to help people. And so that’s how my journey kind of started.
Dr. Delvena
That’s very positive. And so you didn’t let that stop. You didn’t let it slow you down. Man, you went on to obtain your bachelor’s degree in business administration from UM. So, you’re what? Is that? You guys are?
Michelle
Kanes
Dr. Delvena
Thank you. I’m sorry. I’m from Maryland. And we used to be a competitor with UM, and we are actually UM, University of Maryland. We are the real UM. But okay.
Dr. Delvena
Almost called you a Dolphin. I’m like, No, she’s not a Dolphin. That’s the NFL. But okay, back to the story here. So, you have your master’s degree in Health Services Administration from Barry University. And so you’re well-trained and well-equipped, not just personally but educationally to do the work that you’re doing with Be Strong. Tell us about Be Strong.
Michelle
So Be Strong started, actually, in 1992 with a retired Miami Dade County Public School teacher. She saw a lot of young people just making really poor decisions concerning their lives, and she wanted to do something about it. She could relate to them because she was a teen mom at 15. And back then, it was really tabooed. You had to just leave school. She had to go to night school, get a GED. So she went through some struggles there. But by the time she became a teacher, she saw the same generational cycle of kids just making really poor decisions, not understanding what love looks like, not setting healthy boundaries for themselves, not having goals. So much so that she decided to start the organization. And so today, we’re here 30 years later because of her wonderful legacy. Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Delvena
Let’s give her a name.
Michelle
Ms. Althea McMillan. I’m sorry.
Dr. Delvena
Yes, shout out to this former Miami Dade County Public School teacher, she was a teacher, man. She put her time in. She’s retired. She founded the organization in 1992. So you guys are providing resources to individuals from broken families, and offering a lot of programs online and also in person throughout South Florida.
Michelle
Sure, there’s a vast myriad of programs. I mean, from a recent Marriage Matters program that we just got started. So those of the people that are listening online that might have gone through just marital issues, especially during the pandemic and what We’re coming out of and discovering a lot of things about your relationship because people were home. And they had to be forced, you know, kind of to see what’s happening in their relationships. That would be a great program and it’s online right now. And it’s open to anyone that’s in Miami Dade County, of course. That’s online.
Dr. Delvena
So So listen, guys, hopefully you guys are listening to this interview on your 99 dams app this morning is very early. But I want you to multitask and go on the website. Go to bestrongintl.org. Be Strong, b-e-s-t-r-o-n-g-i-n-t-l.org and check out the staff. I mean, shout out to former educator Ms. Althea McMillan for just dreaming this vision and creating a dream that became a reality and growing this nonprofit. Folks who are in the nonprofit space, you know that it can be a challenging endeavor to initiate, to conceive a nonprofit, but to grow your nonprofit. When you go on the website, you’ll see this Michelle Shirley is there as the CEO, and Miss Shirley has 17 years of experience working in nonprofits and has led the team since 2012. And then you’ll see all of the folks that it takes to make this company this nonprofit run. They have administrative folks, finance, communications, business development, community outreach, data programs, development, youth facilitators, parents, facilitators, after school and marriage facilitators, as Miss Shirley was just indicating. So I want to ensure that we shine some light on one of the programs you have coming up very soon. You guys are doing something on Saturday, July 17. Tell us about that.
Michelle
So Project P.E.A.C.E., our partnership with Miami-Dade County, has been absolutely amazing. We are there to really help the community know that we are there to give them the resources that they need so that their community, the community of Goulds actually can be strong. There’s a lot of crime, shootings, and things going on, and we want residents to feel equipped with the tools that they need to feel safe in their community. And so we’re having a Community Fun Fay. It’s July 17. It’ll be at Goulds Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and we have the list of sponsors is amazing. We have the McGovern’s with the Sarah AB, Miami Dolphins Football Unites program the goals Walmart has supported us as well. But we also have school physicals as well as school vaccines mental health screenings from Banyon. We have ch is going to be there with their medical and dental band. So this is a time to come out and to get all of the things that you need for your kids the screenings that you need for your children don’t we have the technical bus coming from Miami-Dade library, psych solutions mental health, Miami-Dade County Department of Early Childhood to enroll in early childhood education Crimestoppers, Miami Dade Police Fire Department, catalyst also donated hurricane kits, there’s a lot of raffles and prizes that will be given out for even coming out. It’s just if you could repeat what you just said, I’m sorry. It’s an exciting time yet for us to be able to come out and for them to come out and for us to love on them and let them know that Miami Dade County is here along with be strong and many other partners to support them in goals.
Dr. Delvena
Wow, that’s awesome. So for someone who’s listening, they’re like, do I live in goals? Because I’m like I said I’m not from here. So what are the boundaries? What What is the target area for the gold? Is it gold or Goulds?
Michelle
Goulds right? Well, Goulds is off 216th Street, but we’re actually opening it up to everyone. So they can come out. At this point, we really want just people to know that the community is here for them. Communities like Goulds, Naranja, there’s some crime happening there that’s high in those neighborhoods. And so, anyone from Perrine, if you’re from south, I mean, if you want to come down from even South 152nd on down to 216th. You can just come out. Right now we’re not refusing anyone at this point.
Dr. Delvena
Okay, So initially, the targeted area was the Goulds area, right. So I guess, Southwest 212 Street and in that vicinity.
Michelle
Yes, yes, ma’am.
Dr. Delvena
Okay, and so I understand how providing these resources will curb crime in the area. Have you guys seen during the last 30 years that there’s been a reduction of certain types of crime or crime overall?
Michelle
Um, I think it’s it’s been off and on, I think what we’ve seen is there these hotspots where crime is is popping up. The Horseshoe area, particularly, there’s some hotspot crime areas going on. And so we’re hoping that with this Project [PEACE] with the county, we were recently awarded this this this grant award in May. But we want to make sure that we can do all that we can. So we have case managers that are coming out and visiting the homes and we’re calling all of the people in the residents that live in the schools area, to just let them know that we’re here and we’re offering whatever resources that they need to them so that they can thrive in their community as well.
Dr. Delvena
Guys, if you’re just tuning in, this is Dr. Delvena, guest co-host with Supa Cindy on 99 Jamz Community Matters. And I’m talking with the CEO from Be Strong International, Miss Michelle Shirley. We’re talking about an upcoming event they have going on this coming Saturday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Be Strong Inernational. They are striving since 1992 to curb crime and infuse hope for families who need it. They provide family and neighborhood empowerment sessions, case management educational workshops. And also you guys have free monthly drive thru food distributions at Goulds Park.
Michelle
Yes, ma’am. Yes, we do. So up to 500 families, we can feed those distributions. Yep. And some of those people who are even elderly, they can come out if they just give us a call at the office, and they live in the ghouls area. They can call our offices and we can make sure that food is delivered to them as well during that food distribution time.
Dr. Delvena
Wow, that is very impactful. I’m sure folks who follow the news, whether you follow it online, or you watch the news, or listen to the news, you’ve heard that there’s a food shortage out here. And so it’s unbelievable. Because Americans, we waste so much food we were so wasteful. And the fact that we waste so much food and there’s this food scarcity, this shortage, it just boggles my brain at times. So thank you for what you guys are doing to ensure especially that the elderly are being fed. And it sounds like the disabled anyone who’s not able to go and pick up food that you guys will deliver to them? Yes, when did the food distribution program began?
Michelle
They started earlier. I believe that the county has been doing it with other [areas]. So Project PEACE isn’t just, wasn’t just in Goulds initially. They initially started in Liberty City with their Project. But it’s been happening for many, many months, every second Thursday of the month until September, we will be doing this this food distribution. And like I said, we just got awarded in May. But we’re happy to help the county with whatever they are planning to do to execute this process and make sure that residents are aware of of who we are and the services that we provide, especially the case management services.
Dr. Delvena
Yeah. And we’re going to talk more about your programs and services. Right now you just mentioned Project PEACE. Project PEACE, this is in partnership with Miami-Dade County. P.E.A.C.E., guys, is an acronym. It stands for “People Engaged in Advocating for Community Empowerment.” It’s a six-month program that is aimed to build social and community cohesion. To reduce crime, that is the overall effort is to reduce crime in the community. So let’s see, you have programs for youth, parents, family and marriage, for community. I love talking about relationships and families. So let’s talk about Marriage Matters. That’s the program that you have for couples and families. Yes,
Michelle
Yes. So it’s amazing. It’s an amazing program. We do want to make sure that couples that join the program, they initially they want to stay together but they need the resources on how they can either better communicate or just how to build that romance again, with so much that has happened, like I said over the pandemic and with the loss of life, as you see with COVID or even just different areas of the county with certain things going on, sort of side and so forth. You just there’s just a lot of stress. People are losing their jobs. And I think it takes a toll on marriages, especially when you have young children in the home and you’re just trying to process life so we’re here to help those couples and As well, they also get case management services to see what resources do they need apart from the educational aspect, so that they can thrive and that their marriage can be can be healthy. Okay?
Dr. Delvena
Now, you guys listening, if you are interested in this program, it is free, totally free, F-R-E-E. It’s free, and so space is limited. And it looks like it’s a really good program. It’s an eight week, evidence-based program, evidence base. So this is a formal program. This is not just some person who’s talking to you and your wife, or you and your husband informally, about Oh, don’t curse and don’t shout at him or her. This is an evidence based program. So they’re coming with the real and they’re coming with a formal advice. It looks like you guys have program sessions that include keys to a sex, a successful relationship, Speaker listener communication skills, which we all know that communication is the number one reason why relationships do not work. People think it’s finances, but it’s really communication, lack of effective communication, knowing when to take time out, expressing appreciation, providing partner support. So you’ll receive all of those things, when you participate in this Marriage Matters. This eight week program, that’s awesome.
Michelle
And we have gift cards, raffles for them. I mean, it’s an amazing. We have a midpoint celebration for them if they make it to the four weeks, which I went to the last one that they had, which was amazing. It was at an amazing ranch in Homestead. It was a very beautiful, romantic getaway. And they’ll graduate with other couples. And then there’s just sort of this sort of fellowship that happens as they get to meet other couples, too, that are part of the program.
Dr. Delvena
Okay. There’s another program, you guys have this club Project Image. So these programs, these are ongoing all throughout the year. Is that is that true to stay?
Michelle
Yes. So we have Project Image. We have Raising the B.A.R. We have Project H.O.P.E., so many different programs. It just all depends on you know who’s inquiring, and what it is that they’re specifically looking for. The leader of our Project Image, which is Mr. Auberry, he also runs Raising the B.A.R. And that’s a parenting program, in which. As a matter of fact, our most hot topic is “Parenting During the Pandemic.” So that is one of the biggest and most largest attended, you know, workshops that we have online. And parents really get to understand how do they navigate with their children through this? How are they going to make a schedule? How do they keep them on routine? How do they keep them engaged, especially with the virtual learning? And so as things open up, hopefully, parents are able to use a lot of the tools that they learned and to keep those routines going. But we also talk to them about raising resilient children, how to raise confident children. As you know, kids don’t come with a handbook. And so we are doing our best to let parents know that they can overcome those barriers that they’re feeling and the things that they’re going through. Someone s here to help and walk them through. And they can say, I’ve been there and I understand and again, all evidence-based curricula.
Dr. Delvena
Okay. And it sounds like you guys are really addressing the root of a lot of problems in the community. It’s not enough to just say, Okay, let’s put a recreation center and this neighborhood or let’s give them you know, an extra $10,000 a month, you guys are making a very intentional effort at addressing the concerns that are at the base at the root of the issues that we have in our communities, you’re addressing parenting, you’re addressing the children also you’re addressing communication within the relationships because we know when mom and dad are getting along in the home or mom and mom or dad and dad are getting along in the home, children are happier, children are healthier, they’re not seeing the argument. So this is just a phenomenal thing that you guys are doing this. And I want folks to know Raising the BAR is also an acronym. It stands for “Budding Adult-Child Relationship.” So Be Strong, their parenting program is called Raising the BAR. And if this is something you’re interested in, please again, visit the website, which is BeStrongIntl, short for International bestrongintl.org. and you can go across the top and you’ll see a header that has programs and go down to parents so their programs are broken down based on age so there’s there’s youth programs, there’s parents, programs for parents as family and marriage and then there’s a community programs. We just spoke about be strong at the table project peace project image. We talked about the Marriage Matters. And now we’re talking about the Raising the BAR Parent Alliance, the Raising the BAR program. So folks can register for Raising the BAR, I guess, year-round.
Michelle
Yes. So we offer virtual workshops year round. We’re also having them too, if they went to the website, they can look and see when the next workshop would be on the events page or the calendar page. We also posted on Eventbrite as well so that people can see upcoming workshops, if they followed, Be Strong, definitely want to follow us on all of our social media pages so that they can see what’s going on with us and find out when the next event is, since we have so many departments doing so many things at once. We did also do, we just sort of wrapping up the documentary that we’re doing with Be Strong at the Table, and it’s talking, we call it “flavored talks.” That’s where we’re talking about sort of like the current events that have been happening to social injustice, the racial inequities with different people at the table, it could be a police officer, it could be at school teacher, it could be anybody, and just having those empathetic conversations about what’s really happening in our communities and bringing people together. We may not agree, but we can have a discussion about it. And we can agree to disagree, but get some understanding. So that’s Be Strong at the Table as well. And thanks to the Children’s Trust. They are the ones that gave us an Innovation Grant to start that program. So we’re excited to see what that will come out and look like the documentary at the end with a toolkit for other providers to use if they want to do the same thing.
Dr. Delvena
Nice, very nice. We have a couple of minutes left, I just want to highlight your strong money mentality youth program. It’s a one of a kind financial literacy series for youth. And it’s important for folks to know that children are not getting the financial education that theyneed, and that they deserve. Only four states require high school students to take a course in personal finance. So you would think we should be more, you know, proactive and not reactive and start teaching these skills at a younger age.
Michelle
Right. And the funny part is that we also have it for adults, because we realize that adults need these skills as well. And the interesting part, even with the young adult program, it’s really interesting because kids get to see, oh, money doesn’t really just appear, right? You’ve got to work for it. And by the time you get it, you’ve got to navigate through all of these needs versus wants, right? So kids get a simulated sort of life and then they get to figure out how do they shop or spend with the facilitators in the classroom, becoming the vendors and being the person that they have to either buy groceries from, who they have to pay for, for childcare, if they end up with a child based on their simulated life is really engaging and we love it. And when we’ve done it, even at community organizations or even faith-based entities, you can see parents looking at their kids and their kids looking at them saying, “Oh my gosh, mom or dad, I didn’t know how difficult this was and how much you have to figure out what to do with what you have left.” Right? What is it that you have left? if any? So it’s really good for the adults the same thing? What’s your relationship with money right? What happened in your past that is causing you to spend money the way you do? What traumatic experience what things you don’t really want to face? How do you feel about money because how you feel about money affects how you spend it and what you do with it and how you respect money so absolutely correct.
Dr. Delvena
I love all of that you just said so well thank you so much for joining us give the folks the information again for Saturday July 17. Where What’s the address and things like that?
Michelle
Okay, so the July 17 event is at Goulds Park and it is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the address for Goulds Park is 11350 Southwest 216th Street. Again, that’s Goulds Park, but they can contact us as well if they want more information at 305-969-7829 extension 125 or they can email us projectpeace@bestrongintl.org.
Dr. Delvena
Nice. Awesome. Thanks so much for coming on Chief Executive Officer Michelle Shirley.
Michelle
Thank you so much, Dr. Thomas. You’re amazing.
Dr. Delvena
Absolutely, thank you and guys remember go to the website bestrongintl.org, which is short for International, .org bestrongintl.org. Visit the website. Check these people out. This is a nonprofit that has been doing big things in the community. And it appears to be so organized and coordinated. Well, we can all learn a lesson and how these Folks are managing this nonprofit and I thank them for everything that they’re doing in the community. So listen, if you haven’t downloaded the 99 Jamz app, download it so you don’t have to get out of bed and go to your car or go find a radio to tune in to 99 Jamz Community Matters on every Sunday morning at 5 a.m. with Supa Cindy and me as your guest co-host, Dr. Delvena Thomas. Everyone have a fabulous, fabulous week. Thank you.
