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SWAG Sisters seek to make a difference

Group aiming to help girls, women

WARREN — A city woman once on her own troubled path will be using her experiences to turn around the lives of area women and young girls through a series of programs in the coming weeks.

The Black & White Affair, Sundresses, Pearls and Hats Conference will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the BRITE Energy Innovators, 125 W. Market St.

“This came about because of the many young women — whom I’ve interacted with through my job as a program support specialist — have expressed to me they’ve ended up in trouble because of the toxic relationships they’ve had with their mothers. And they’re afraid of passing on these same types of relationships down to their daughters,” Honeya Price said. “We want to break the cycle of toxic relationships by having real conversations.”

Girls ages 13 and up are invited to attend the program with their mothers.

“I’ve found that it is at this age that communication between young girls and their mothers becomes strained,” Price said.

Featured speakers will be area residents Angela Wells, Shea Lewis Murry, Cynthia McNair, Nicole Oliver and Danyell Logan, who are telling their stories.

Those interested in attending this free event should call Price at 330-937-0456 or McNair at 330-766-2986,

This is one of several programs sponsored by a Mahoning Valley organization called SWAG Sisters.

Sisters Welcome All Generations Sisters was formed in 2016 by Price to empower women and provide avenues to help young girls find confidence in themselves. The program is open to females ages 5 to 95.

In addition to this weekend’s event, SWAG Sisters also has been sponsoring a 12-month Rubies Etiquette program aimed at providing girls ages 6 to 12 a series of life skills they will use as they go into their teenage years and grow into womanhood.

Rubies Etiquette began in May, and the next meeting will take place July 24. It will feature discussions on “It’s OK to be different.”

Other topics for future monthly meetings will include conflict resolution, yoga, health and wellness, self-defense, cooking, financial literacy and leadership development.

The programs will allow them to bond with other girls in the community and do activities, such as golfing, camping, horseback riding, swimming and crafts.

“We already have 20 girls participating in this program and have room for 20 more,” Price said. “We are trying to plant seeds of self-confidence by providing positive influences and activities to these girls early in their lives.”

Price said they are trying to get to girls before they are influenced by negative experiences that may lead them down the wrong paths.

She described having lost a job and having to start over because Price, a former Warren school district employee, in 2014 pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of improper handling of a firearm.

“I experienced some things in my own childhood that took me on a dark road,” she said. “Maybe if I would have been affirmed, told I was smart, beautiful and could do many positive things, I would not have gone down those roads.”

“We want to teach these girls to dream big while they are still very young,” she said. “We want them to have feelings of self-worth.”

The classes are from 12:30 through 3 p.m. at the Warren Women’s Club, 708 N. Park Ave. To register, call Price at 330-937-0456.

SWAG has been assisted by the Raymond John Wean Foundation and by businessman John Taylor, according to Price.

rsmith@tribtoday.com

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