Helping Women of Color Leaders Rest and Recharge with the S.E.L.F.F. Care Sabbatical Program

Women of color are often the caretakers of their families and communities, without stopping for a moment to care for themselves. Writer and Director Ava DuVernay once said:

“…Too much of not caring for yourself is not a good thing. We’re bad at that as achievers. Self-care is a priority, and we have to do it more.” 

Research shows that when it comes to addressing stress, fatigue and mental health challenges, women of color are less likely to seek help. While women experience depression at twice the rate of men, Black women, in particular, are only half as likely to seek help as white women. Latine women are also less likely to address their struggles due to the stigma about prioritizing mental health in their communities.  

To find solutions to this issue, Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) of Greater Chicago, an initiative housed at The Chicago Community Trust, launched the Supporting Exemplary Leaders & Freedom Fighters (S.E.L.F.F.) Care Sabbatical Program in 2023. The pilot grant program was intended to help women of color leading nonprofit and community-based organizations take a step back from their daily challenges and lean into self-care. Ten women representing South and West Side neighborhoods were chosen to participate in the pilot and given a $5,000 stipend for unrestricted use.  

“These are women with families who have witnessed problems like food insecurity and violence around them while also having a deep level of compassion for their communities,” said Pilar Audain, associate director of TRHT of Greater Chicago. “One of the things that was really startling to me was how many of them struggle with saying ‘no’ because they feel like they’re charged with having to show up and be part of the solution”  

Over six months, participants were encouraged to manage a self-directed path of learning, travel, observation, rest, and reflection. Throughout the pilot, participants were also provided the space to develop new approaches to community service and leadership and co-create strategies that build a longer-term self-care movement.  

For Rosa Martínez Colón, president & CEO of Instituto ANCLA, the grant opportunity came at a critical moment for her. After witnessing the AIDS/HIV pandemic in the early 1990s, as well as founding and leading an organization for Latines impacted and affected by HIV and AIDS for 25 years, she says she was dealing with vicious trauma and burnout. She jumped at the chance to apply. 

“I thought that this opportunity would be great for me to stop and reset as I embarked on a new journey of establishing a new organization in Chicago for long-term survivors of HIV,” she said.  

Janell Nelson, co-founder of Englewood Arts Collective, also applied to the program to address burnout. She went in assuming rest from a sabbatical would help her with work efficiency. Instead, she came to realize that she learned to become more intentional and deliberate with her time, not rushing to answer emails or say yes to things in a reactive manner.  

“Personally, I am very much a work in progress, and this cohort has made me more comfortable being vulnerable enough to own that,” said Nelson.  

Uncovering impact and inspiring others to take on sabbatical programs  

TRHT enlisted the help of nonprofit consulting firm IntuWork to evaluate the SELFF Care Sabbatical pilot. Some of the key findings of IntuWork’s report include: 

• Participants reported getting better at enforcing boundaries and prioritizing themselves. 
• Participants reported improvement in their time management skills.  
• Participants reported being able to incorporate self-care routines in their lives to improve their mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health.  
• Some participants reported they were able to uncover their leadership style and identity.  

With these findings, TRHT is looking for resources to run more cohorts of the grant program. Additionally, it hopes these findings influence the philanthropic sector to take a deeper interest in funding sabbatical programs and organizations across multiple sectors to provide sabbatical opportunities for their employees.  

“There are so many positives that would come from being able to incorporate rest as a rule into an organization,” said Audain.  

To introduce funders to the benefits of self-care programs, TRHT hosted a convening in June that featured a panel discussion with representatives from Crossroads Fund, EverThrive Illinois, and Grand Victoria Foundation who shared their experiences leading and funding sabbatical programs. When asked why philanthropy should be more supportive, Chi Chi Okwu, executive director of EverThrive Illinois, put it bluntly: “If we want to be driving change, we can’t have exhausted leaders. We need to invest in rest.”  

To read the full findings of the S.E.L.F.F. Care Sabbatical Program evaluation report, click here.