Beautywell Project

THE BEAUTYWELL PROJECT IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS FOUNDED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SKIN-LIGHTENING PRACTICES AND CHEMICAL EXPOSURES IN THE IMMIGRANT AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION IS TO DEVELOP HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION, RESEARCH, EMPOWERMENT, POLICY AND SYSTEMS CHANGES.

THE YOUNG WOMEN'S WELLNESS AND LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE (YWWLI) TRAINS YOUNG 1418-YEAR-OLD SOMALI WOMEN TO TAKE LEAD OF THEIR HEALTH AND WELLBEING, GAIN POLICY AND ADVOCACY SKILLS, AND CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS SKIN-LIGHTENING PRACTICE, SELF-ESTEEM AND PROMOTE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. YWWLI WILL GIVE THEM A SAFE SPACE TO FLOURISH, RE-DISCOVER, AND EXPLORE PARTS OF THEIR HEALTH AND WELLNESS THAT THEY HAVE NOT YET TAPPED INTO DUE TO SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS. EACH COHORT MEET WEEKLY FOR 18 WEEKS AND CONCLUDE WITH A RETREAT. YWWLI WILL ALSO INCLUDE ONE-ON-ONE MENTORSHIP FOR THE YOUNG WOMEN AND WILL PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE MENTORSHIP ONCE THEY COMPLETE THE PROGRAM. SO FAR IN THIS PROGRAM WE HAVE TRAINED 7 COHORTS.

THIS WAS A LEGISLATION THAT MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE PASSED IN 2019 TO USE FOR FISCAL YEARS OF 2020-2022. THE FUNDING PASSED THROUGH MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) AND WAS AWARDED 55,000 TO THE BEAUTYWELL PROJECT FOR TWO YEARS (2020-2022). THIS FUNDING ENDED JULY 2022; HOWEVER, WE CONTINUED DOING THE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO COMMUNITIES ADDRESSING THE TOXIC CHEMICALS THAT ASSOCIATE WITH THE USE OF SKIN-LIGHTENING PRODUCTS. WE HAVE DONE SEVERAL ACTIVITIES USING THIS MONEY AND CONTINUE TO DO THEM:1) WE HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY CONDUCTING EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH ABOUT SKIN-LIGHTENING PRACTICES AND CHEMICAL EXPOSURES IN ALL OUR PROGRAMS. WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THE EDUCATIONAL MESSAGES THROUGH OUR TEXT PROGRAM, WHATSAPP, IN ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS INCLUDING FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN AND INSTAGRAM AS WELL AS OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THE SKIN-LIGHTENING AND CHEMICAL EXPOSURE EDUCATION THROUGH PRESENTING AT WEBINAR SESSIONS, PRESENTING TO COMMUNITY LEADERS AND MEMBERS. HOSTING SESSIONS FOR YOUTH AND PARENT GROUPS. WE HAVE BEEN PRESENTING AND TRAINING AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH STUDENTS AND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS. WE HAVE PRESENTED AT SEVERAL CONFERENCES BOTH IN STATE AND NATIONWIDE. WE HAVE CONDUCTED TRAININGS COMMUNITIES TO OTHER STATES AND STATE GOVERNMENT STAFFS. DESIGNED MULTIPLE EDUCATION MATERIALS ABOUT SKIN-LIGHTENING AND CHEMICALS EXPOSURES. WE ALSO TRANSLATED OUR EDUCATION MATERIALS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. 2) SOME OF THE FUNDING USED FOR OUR YOUNG WOMEN'S WELLNESS AND LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE.3) CONDUCTING REGULAR EVALUATION FOR THE PROJECT.4) WE HAVE CONDUCTED OUR 2ND ANNUAL YOUTH HEALTH SUMMIT COMBATING COLORISM. 5) CONTINUES EDUCATION THROUGH BEAUTY-WELLNESS TALK PODCAST6) CONDUCTED KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUP SESSION TO CONTINUE COLLECT DATA ABOUT THE USE OF THESE SKIN-LIGHTENING PRODUCTS, ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PRACTICE AND ITS IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES. 7) TESTED SKIN-LIGHTENING PRODUCTS.