Meet Dr. Sharnell Myles of The Social Justice Cafe for Girls in Metro Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Sharnell Myles.

Dr. Sharnell, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up in South Philadelphia, hearing and witnessing acts of violence against youth was common. In particular, it seemed commonplace to watch one girl get jumped by five, ten girls while other youth and even adults standby and watch without intervening. I remember one day walking home from elementary school and being approached by a group of girls who were in middle school. At that time, I wasn’t a fighter because I come from one of the largest families in the South Philly area and just by name, I didn’t have to fight. However, as I grew older, my community grew worse or yet, I became more aware of the youth on youth crime that was going on. I finally understood why our neighborhood was called “Little Saigon”. There were turf wars going on – sometimes only five blocks in-between – Black on Black crime, Blacks against Whites, South Philly against North Philly, it was always someone against someone. Yet, I felt that I was safe because of my family name, the foundation my parents provided, and growing up in a safe home.

Very early on, my parents opened our home to children in the foster care system after birthing four girls. Two of my brothers were adopted when I was about 6 or 7, another brother when I was 12, my youngest sister when I was 17, and I even had over 50 foster siblings who had experienced some form of trauma. There was a lot of love in our home. However, when I left the protection of my home to attend school, I felt like I had to physically fight in order to return home. So, that’s what I did day in and day out. However, my parents never knew because there was no-one in my school who cared enough to make a phone call to my parents and explain to them that I had been kicked out of class for the day, or that I had gotten into an argument with the teachers, let alone not completed homework. Yet, I was a bright student who passed every test without studying. Around the age of 14, my father sent me to the Chinese store on the corner of the block, along with my little sister who was seven at the time, and an adult guy put a gun to my head and demanded my necklace that my boyfriend at the time gave to me. Because I was defiant, I bolded said, “No!” He began mugging me in the head with the gun and told me to give him the chain again.

By this time, my sister began hollering and the gunman turned to her and told her to shut up with the gun still pointing at me. He snatched the chain off my neck and ran. I vividly remember running to my house and telling my father what happened. He immediately went to his bedroom (I knew what that meant), came back out, and told me to get in the car. We went looking for the guy. My father made a few stops to let people on the street know what happened and to be on the lookout for the guy. I believe that this one incident affected me in a way that not many people realized. It birthed a rage in me that over time, I began sublimating into something positive. There were so many other incidents that added to this rage – like my neighbor who I’d grown up with being gunned down on the block by another young kid, and I can go on and on. So, for me, I believe that I had always been exposed to some form of trauma, particularly community-based trauma. And despite my behavior, I would always beg my parents to accompany them when they had to take one of my siblings to their therapy appointment.

Despite my behavior, I graduated high school at 16 years of age and began attending Norfolk State University the following Fall. My first year was truly a transition. My grades weren’t good because instead of focusing on studying, I was more focused on partying and enjoying life as a 16-year old. I also started dating a football player who was also a drug dealer. We began living together and he dropped out of school. I continued attending because my parents were not having anything less. During my junior year, our apartment caught on fire – well, we were told that it was set on fire. This was the last straw for me. I was living a life that I knew God was not pleased with, let alone my parents. This was not my calling. I quickly found that my calling was serving others who were also survivors of trauma and helping them find a voice in advocacy.

So, fast forward, I got my life together because I understood that serving others was my calling. I was able to move through higher education and earned a BA in Psychology, a MA in Community and Clinical Psychology, a MA in Psychology and Doctoral degree in Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Assessment. I’ve had the pleasure of working in different sectors in the field of trauma. I am a licensed psychotherapist and trauma specialist who founded JoyUs Beginnings Child and Family Wellness Center and The Urban Trauma Positive Impact Center, Inc. an exclusive trauma-informed practice that provides clinical services to children, adolescents, and adults. We have served the Atlanta community since 2001 and primarily treats survivors of community-based traumas and sexual traumas, specifically commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).

In addition, we developed PeriCare a 2-generation approach to closing the gap between providing trauma-informed services to girls and women of color who are survivors of sexual violence, pregnant, or who have children up to the age of three years. Our goal – to reduce the effects of generational trauma, developing healthy children, and decreasing the chances of additional traumas in girls and women. We quickly realized that providing therapy services was not enough when working in trauma. Therefore, I developed advocacy services that are of no cost to girls and women we serve. Out of our advocacy work, I developed The Social Justice Cafe for Girls, Inc. This idea was literally given to me by God one more while in the shower. I clearly saw who the program would serve, the name, the mission, and just how far the program would reach – international.

The Social Justice Cafe for Girls has a mission to provide a safe space (Café) to address issues that impact girls, bridge the gap and develop relationships with pioneering social justice women, develop and operate social impact agendas, and impact girls and women domestically and internationally, through dialogue and service as globally-minded social justice girls. This is my lovechild for sure! The SJC4G is not only changing lives but changing the trajectory of generations for girls to come! Since its inception, the program has touched the lives of over 500 girls through mentoring, social justice cafés, wellness and empowerment seminars, international travel, and advocacy services. The majority of our girls reside in some of Atlanta’s roughest urban corridors and are survivors of trauma, specifically sex trafficking and community-based trauma. However, some of our girls have never experienced trauma.

The program provides girls a constant safe space to address an array of issues that impact their lives such as bullying, inequality, education, sexuality, relationships, and even hair as a social justice issue! Girls engage in four cafes: Café Med which introduces girls to medical professions underrepresented by women of color in partnership with The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Café Justice which teaches girls how to become young yet powerful advocates in the area of social justice while developing meaningful relationships with pioneering social justice women and engaging in Social Impact Projects domestically and internationally; Café International which teaches girls how to become globally-minded social justice girls, develop international relations with other girls, and gain exposure through travel; and Café Girl which allows girls to celebrate all things girl! We believe that the Café negates many of the negative influences and vulnerabilities that would have otherwise derailed the lives of our girls.

The Cafe has taken a global leap to impact girls, women, and communities through international travel. Through our partnership with Abiri Tours, Ashley Scott, our International Relations Director, develops our international travel curriculum which has taken us to San Pedro, Guatemala for the last two years.

My one goal in life is to serve! I have been named a 2019 Lexicon of Human Dignity Servant Leader, a Barack Obama Lifetime Achievement Community Servant, awarded a Fulton County Georgia Proclamation naming September 20th Dr. Sharnell Myles day, and a Social Justice Cafe for Girls Resolution from Senator Tanya Anderson, among many other awards. In addition, I hold many volunteer positions and appointments: Dekalb County Juvenile Court Mental Health Court Chair, Georgia Statewide Trafficking Taskforce partner, and Breaking the Cycle, Inc. Chair, amongst other positions. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that a little brown girl from South Philly would grow up to influence and touch so many lives. Beyond all, I am a mother of three beautiful children. In 2017, my husband collapsed and passed away in front of my children while home. So, although this road has not been easy, God continues to order my steps so that I can support and empower others along my journey.

Has it been a smooth road?
This has not been a smooth road at all. Developing a trauma-informed practice and a non-profit requires thick skin. I’ve received many “nos” I’ve received along the way. For me, the nos never deterred me. One of the biggest struggles was realizing that through this all the individuals who I thought would support me and walk hand and hand, would not. Yet, I quickly got over this. My expectation of support changed and it continues to change as time goes on. In addition, funding has been an ongoing challenge. I began developing my practice on “FREE”. That’s right! Everything that I needed I found a way to get it for free – from creating documents to office supplies to furniture. I did my research. I also had a few people in my corner who supported me with small donations.

Since developing the Cafe, I’ve pounded the pavement to make it happen for the girls in the program. I quickly learned that a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. Therefore, I ask for donations that directly support our yearly programming and travel. Sharing the work that I do on a larger platform has also been a challenge. Being featured in a magazine like this is such a blessing because now even more people will learn about our work and hopefully support. In addition, I had to find a balance in life in order to work at such a high level, maintain good self-care, and still be the best mommy I can be. Thanks to my parents, Joyce and Jerry Frink, my sisters, my self-care partner Anana Harris Parris with SisterCare Alliance, and a few good sister-friends, I am reminded that everyday that my work is a journey that requires me to practice self-care in order to stay the course.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I developed an exclusive trauma-informed practice that has served the Atlanta community since 2001. I am a trauma specialist, policy developer, social justice entrepreneur, behavioral health consultant, and most of all mother. I specialize in treating children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced forms of trauma, namely community-based trauma and sexual traumas. I am known for being a go-to trauma clinician, an unapologetic advocate for children and marginalized individuals, creating systems of care that protect children and ensure continuity of care specifically for children and women, empowering girls in social justice, and working to end child sex trafficking. I am most proud of co-writing (along with Board Member Erika Mitchell) the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Policy for Atlanta Public Schools which was passed unanimously.

I am most proud of this because it sets in place a policy that will protect ALL children in one of the largest school districts in the US. With Atlanta being in the top 15 cities affected by CSEC every school should have this policy to protect ALL children. This policy opened the door to me being able to work with other school districts around the US and train them on CSEC and becoming trauma-informed schools. This is a movement that will help protect our youth for generations to come. I am also most proud that I have been able to create a pathway for young girls of color who may have never been afforded the opportunity to travel outside of their county, this state, or this country to learn about social justice issues that affect them, to use their voices to ignite change and equity, and to become globally-minded girls of color and impact other girls and women in other countries.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is a great city to open a trauma-informed clinical practice and social justice non-profit for girls. I would recommend being mentored by one of the thousands of great women who have come before us. There are a lot of women who I look up to and call on for guidance. First and foremost, my mother Joyce Frink, Judge Renata Turner who for me demonstrates the essence of advocacy for children everyday in her courtroom, Nina Hickson who paved the way for so many of us who are on the journey to end CSEC, Uneeka Jay who shows us how to ReWrite life and do God’s work, Stephanie Evans who teaches us how to chronicle Black Women’s Wellness and use our heritage to move along in this thing called life, Dr. Terrilyn Cannon who is the first Black female APS School Social Worker of the year and in the US and who advocates for and empowering our children every single day, and I can go on and on and on naming phenomenal women who have shown me the way. So, not being afraid to connect with another women who is making it happen is a requirement, not an option. We have to stop being afraid to honor our sisters and our ancestors.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1626 Virginia Ave, College Park, GA 30337
• Website: www.joyusbeginnings.com
• Phone: 404-496-3829
• Email: joyusbeginnings@outlook.com
• Instagram: TheSocialJusticeCafe4Girls
• Facebook: TheSocialJusticeCafe4Girls

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