UWindsor alumna Joan Simpson is the founder of the Beauty is Me non-profit (KYLE ARCHIBALD/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
Belonging has always been at the heart of everything University of Windsor alumna Joan Simpson (BSW ‘06, MSW ‘14) does.
From supporting newcomers and those facing socioeconomic barriers to co-founding the Beauty is Me non-profit, Simpson’s work is all about empowerment and reminding people that they belong.
It’s a drive that has been with Simpson since her youth.
As early as her high school years, she knew she wanted to become a social worker, and she has followed that passion ever since.
“When I came to Canada from Jamaica in high school, I realized that there was a career called social work where I could actually make a difference,” Simpson says.
Even while enrolled in her first undergraduate degree in anthropology, social work was still front of her mind as she planned her coursework to ensure she had all the necessary prerequisites to pursue her dream career.
“I came back to Windsor, I was serving as a waitress, and then I became a mom,” Simpson explains. “And then I thought, okay, let’s finish this social work degree.”
Receiving admission to the Bachelor of Social Work program, Simpson credits UWindsor for making her education possible as she juggled the pressures of school, work and motherhood.
“It meant a lot to me,” she says of the support she received from UWindsor’s financial aid office. “I kept up in school, kept my marks in good standing with scholarships and bursaries coming in, and that’s how I actually made it through.”
Her experience in the BSW program was transformative, with placements that set Simpson on the path toward the community-based work she continues to this day.
She credits Carmela Battisti, her supervisor at a placement with the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation, for bolstering her sense of belonging and self-efficacy as a new social worker.
At the time, Simpson herself was a tenant of the Community Housing Corporation, which she says gave some of her colleagues pause, but Battisti assured her that she was exactly where she needed to be.
“I had the opportunity to shine so much,” she says. “I didn’t think I even had it in me as a single mom, not having support, the first person in the family to go to university, first person to graduate and going back again to improve my education.”
Simpson had the chance to work with populations from youth to seniors, newcomers and single mothers, taking this experience along to her second placement with Windsor Women Working with Immigrant Women.
“Those placements really solidified my dream, that this is the work I was definitely going to do,” Simpson says, crediting the strong women colleagues and supervisors who supported her throughout.
After graduating, her mentor Battisti shared a job opportunity working in the Glengarry community with those facing socioeconomic barriers.
“I landed my first real job in social work, working with some strong community advocates who surrounded me, loved me, nurtured me, mentored me and were just great role models,” she says.
“They really opened my eyes to reassure and affirm that I belonged in the field.”
As Simpson’s family grew, she took some time away from work, returning to Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor, and eventually back to UWindsor for the Master of Social Work program.
Even though she no longer worked at Glengarry, she describes feeling like she never left because of the lasting impact of that role.
“I brought that experience with me, connecting in the community to work with newcomers and staying in touch with everyone,” she explains, noting that children from her days in Glengarry who had since grown up still reach out about the impact her programming had on them.
“Not only was I there to be supportive, I looked like them as well, and for a lot of kids in that community, it was more relatable. I’m grateful I was able to make a difference in that way.”
While balancing family life, graduate school, and career, Simpson was also volunteering regularly in the community, including as co-chair of an advisory committee at the Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society to support Black, African, and Caribbean children in care.
As part of this role, Simpson says concerns arose around Black and biracial children in foster care with non-Black parents who struggled around caring for their hair.
“Taking care of our hair is very important for us. It means a lot when our hair is done,” she explains. “It’s tied to our identity.”
In 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown happened, Simpson found an opportunity to slow down with her other commitments and focus on ways to empower these children.
“The idea of Beauty is Me came during that time,” she says. “I called up Michael Brown, who was co-chair of that advisory committee, and I pitched the idea to him.”
Simpson and Brown shared their idea with the Children’s Aid Society, who were in full support, and with some seed money the Beauty is Me non-profit was born.
A grassroots initiative, Beauty is Me began with hair care workshops for foster parents, caregivers and guardians of Black and biracial children where the history and cultural legacy of Black hair as well as hair care tips are shared.
“It’s all about empowerment, being supportive,” Simpson says.
The non-profit has expanded to offer other programming, including the Perfectly Me camp during March Break and the I Am Enough summer camps.
“Everything is really celebrating our kids, reminding them how great they are, that they can do anything they put their mind to. That’s the entire focus,” Simpson says.
In addition to offering these programs free of charge, Beauty is Me also provides free books to children and community groups through their Just Like Me book initiative, featuring books by Black authors and illustrators. Each child who attends a workshop, event or camp walks away with a book.
“It keeps the message going,” says Simpson. “It makes a child feel like they belong when they read a story that sounds like them or looks like them.”
It is this positive and lasting impact on children that makes all the work worth it for Simpson.
“Hearing from our kids, our youth, our parents say how the program has meant a lot to them, that’s the most important,” she says.
At the same time, she credits her community and team with supporting Beauty is Me’s work.
“We would not be able to do this work without our community. We love Windsor,” she says.
To learn more about Beauty is Me or support their work, visit their website.