Girls w/disAbility & Moms Stop Cycle of Violence.

Magical Shoes is based on creating various levels of Affirmation Groups.  Affirmation Groups are being used instead of self-help groups.  Through our work with mothers and families we realized that most Mothers have hardly ever been affirmed and never learned how to affirm their children. The women who are working in Magical Shoes are themselves mothers with children with a handicap. It is a part of our Mother To Mother Program.  They realized early on that they did not even have a vocabulary which was affirming.  It is a whole new way to work with others. Mostly they are used to giving information and advice.  Now they are in a position where they need to find ways to affirm not advise.  Information will be shared and eventually they will have presenters who will give more specific information to the mothers and their daughters on various topics. 

The focus is on relationships and affirming. The pilot program is working with five pairs of mothers and daughters.  After an initial dynamic they separate and the mothers stay with the mother promotors to work more deeply on the reason for the dynamic.  The girls are at the same time working with a psychologist who is helping the girls to understand their own situation and their disABILITY.

When the mothers and daughters come into the program they take off their shoes in symbolic manner of taking off their old habits.  They put on socks which are softer and which all the mothers and daughters are putting on the same kind of socks. An example of the dynamic used in the first part of the meeting is the faith walk where the mothers and the daughters walk in pairs with one of them blindfolded and the other leads, then they trade places. The whole group then reflects on how they felt doing this dynamic.    

How do we affirm each other?  Our mother promoters are learning more and more about affirmations.  Outside of the group sessions each mother promoter is visiting the mothers  individually getting to know them and listening to them more deeply.  The whole Social Unit is learning more about affirming one and another because we are all excited to work in this program. It is truly a mother to mother project, as well as a daughter to daughter program.