Spotlight
YAC Member Jamila Small shares her story
Jamila Small, a current Osborne Youth Action Council member, shares how the program has given her the tools to advocate for herself and other children of incarcerated parents.
Osborne’s Youth Action Council (YAC), a group of 15- to 17-year-old advocates directly affected by incarceration, will be in Albany on April 26 for a day of advocacy to protect in-person visits. Today we profile one of the YAC members that will be part of the entourage advocating in Albany on Tuesday.
Jamila Small is a 16-year-old professional hair braider and author. She previously participated in Osborne’s Youth Experience Success (YES), our program for 13- to 15-year-olds, and recently joined the Youth Action Council. These programs, which are part of Osborne’s Children, Youth, and Family Services, have helped her understand that she is not alone; she has met and connected with other children and teenagers who share very similar experiences of having an incarcerated parent.
Jamila said that YES workshops “allowed [her] to be vulnerable” about her experiences with parental incarceration. YES and YAC have helped Jamila process her thoughts and feelings, and the programs have helped build a foundation where Jamila can get closer to her father. Currently, Jamila hosts two podcasts with YAC, where she and other participants share their experiences and advocate for change. Jamila hopes to facilitate a YES workshop in the near future, as she looks forward to sharing her story with children who are overcoming the same challenges that she has experienced.
Outside of Osborne, Jamila has been braiding hair at a professional level since she was twelve years old, and she currently runs her own hair braiding business. Jamila is the author of a book entitled The Power of Customer Service, that aims to inspire other young entrepreneurs to turn their own business ideas into reality. According to Jamila, the driving force behind her initiative and leadership is “breaking generational curses.”
When asked where she sees herself in the next five to ten years, Jamila responded “I will be in an amazing place emotionally. I will be inspiring others. I will be a millionaire within that time period, and I see myself continuing to build my empire.”