By Nana Ama Addo
Yvette V. Rouse is a pioneer in the clinical social work field. With over 23 years of experience helping professionals and young people reach their goals, she is the founder of Health Services Inc, a nonprofit organization that provides youth with tools needed to help themselves, and hosts initiatives such as the Akoma Rites of Passage program, which gives underprivileged youth access to resources like mentorship, education, counseling and travel. Yvette is also the Director of Forensic Clinical Services at the Public Health Management Corporation Community Engagement Forensic Services Program. A mother of many, Yvette gives us a peek inside her journey of philanthropy.
What motherhood means to Yvette: Motherhood is an unbreakable bond between a woman and a child. It does not have to be of blood relation.
How Yvette balances motherhood with her career: I provide time for myself through travel and pampering. My time is freer because I’m not full time.
What led Yvette to her mentorship role:
My parents were mentors in north Philadelphia. They started a club called Our Gang and Teens Inc. They took all the children under their wing and supported everyone. I’ve always wanted to play an active role in young people’s lives. Also, my relationship with my mother is phenomenal and fulfilling. This allows me to mother other children. I’ve been a softball coach, a girl scout troop leader and a mentor. They fondly call me soccer mom.
On whether Yvette thinks the roles of motherhood are evolving: Yes, I think they are ever evolving.
Yvette relates her role as a mother to strengthening the Diaspora community: Teaching children from where they come … letting them know the story begins way before slavery and that they are phenomenal are ways I utilize my role to impact these young Diaspora minds.
Check out her work at www.phscares.org, on social media at @akomaprincess or contact her at Phscares1@gmail.com.
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