H.E.R SPACE

Milk Honey Bees is a Brixton-based creative and expressive safe space for young Black women and girls aged 5-21 to put H.E.R (Healing, Empowerment and Resilience) first. Our work centres Black girl joy and wellbeing by creating spaces where they feel seen, heard and valued, whilst connecting with their dreams, passions and future aspirations. 

With your support of £50,000, we wish to continue providing supportive and therapeutic spaces for Black girls aged 11-18 through our H.E.R. Space Programme, which encourages Black girls to process trauma, begin to heal and experience improved mental health. Through H.E.R Space, Black girls are encouraged to utilise creative methods such as journaling, moodboarding, mind-mapping and creative writing, as a way of expressing their creativity, building sisterhood and healing. 

Countless evidence continues to illustrate the often overlooked mental health needs of young Black girls. Through our own research report, “See Us, Hear Us’ (2023 / 2024),and delivery of H.E.R Space in secondary schools across Lambeth, we understand the experiences of Black girls, and how factors such as low-income, lack of safety within their community and limited access to wellbeing support, negatively impacts their journey through adolescence.

Consequently, our research and school delivery identifies a clear need and demand for our work in Lambeth, with Black girls directly telling us that they are in desperate need of safe, tailored spaces that prioritise their mental health and wellbeing. In response to this need, our programme supports Black girls from Brixton and neighbouring areas who want a space to belong, to be seen, and to build their confidence. 

We will create safe and accessible spaces over 2 sessions every week and one Saturday per month, enabling the girls to access both 1:1 and group therapeutic mentoring sessions that centre their expression, with the support of trained peer mentors who also live in the area. Girls from Brixton and their families will have the option to either self-refer or be referred through other services. Through this fund, we will be able to hire an in-house therapist, two part-time youth workers, and cover snacks, enrichment activities, and resources to support the delivery of the programme. Improved outcomes of this programme include enhanced mental health and emotional wellbeing for Black girls, increased confidence, strengthened family and peer relationships, and a deeper sense of sisterhood and belonging. Participants are also expected to develop positive coping mechanisms, improved communication and self-expression skills, and greater resilience. 

Ultimately, our mission is simple: to create safe, wellbeing centered spaces that offer Black girls holistic 360 support as they navigate adolescence and beyond. H.E.R. Space provides what our Black girls have been asking for and ensures we achieve this mission. 

As one of our H.E.R Space peer mentors told us: “H.E.R. Space made me feel listened to and comfortable enough to express my emotions, as I didn’t before. It has made me more confident in speaking in front of people.”