Step Beyond hosting open house for women

Step Beyond will host an open house/open meeting, Wednesday Nov. 16, from 5-7 p.m. at Staples City Hall for any women interested in mentoring.

The open house will give Step Beyond the opportunity to share its purpose with members of the community.

The Step Beyond mentoring program forms caring and supportive relationships between women who live in the same community but are in contrasting life situations.

Participants in the program say it’s less of a mentoring program and more of a way to show support between people in the community. During the meetings participants do not separate themselves into mentors and mentees, they simply come together for socialization without judging. 

Women in the group setting are careful when describing the type of person who would benefit from joining. They like to connect with women who’ve undergone life changes and are trying to move on from survival to sustainability in their lives. Those guidelines are open to interpretation.

The Step Beyond motto is “Empowering Women to Thrive,” with goals of helping women establish a sense of belonging in their community, improving mental health, happiness and life satisfaction.

The program is a function of Staples Motley Beyond Poverty but the group does not want to attach the stigma of poverty to the description because the program is non-judgemental in all aspects. 

A typical Step Beyond meeting includes food, activities and conversations. Meetings are held in different locations and sometimes short trips to nearby locations have been selected.

The time commitment of joining the program is one monthly group meeting and weekly contact with mentors by phone calls or meeting for coffee.