This episode includes discussions of trauma, mental health, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space. This season, we are passing the mic with intention and holding space for Black survivors to share their stories in their own words.

In this episode, we are honoured to hear from Aminata, an international student and community member whose healing journey began when she moved to Canada on her own and started learning who she is outside of expectation. Aminata reflects on navigating trauma, receiving her ADHD diagnosis, and what it has meant to seek support while carrying the weight of cultural stigma around mental health.

Through her story, Aminata shares how learning to stop shrinking herself has been an ongoing practice, how community has helped her feel seen, and how choosing herself has opened space for confidence, freedom, and hope for the future. She speaks honestly about anxiety, triggers, and the patience required to heal, while reminding us that being different is not something to hide, but something that can become a source of strength.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Aminata’s story with care, softness, and deep respect.

This episode includes discussions of sexual assault, trauma, reclaiming one’s body, boundaries, and healing after harm. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space. This season, we are passing the mic with intention and holding space for Black survivors to share their stories in their own words.

In this episode, we are honoured to hear from Karelle, a program coordinator, creative soul, and community member whose healing journey has been rooted in learning to take up space, draw boundaries, and choose herself. Karelle reflects on what it means to name harm, to stop making herself smaller for the comfort of others, and to recognize that standing up for yourself is not a single moment, but an ongoing practice.

Through her story, Karelle shares how movement has helped her reconnect with her body, from pole dancing to aerial hoop, and how reclaiming joy through physical expression has become an act of resistance. She speaks honestly about navigating self-blame, choosing agency, and building a life after sexual assault that centers care, intention, and freedom.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Karelle’s story with care, softness, and deep respect.

This episode includes general discussions of survivorship, self-harm, mental health, grief, and reclaiming one’s body and autonomy. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space. This season, we are passing the mic with intention and holding space for Black survivors to share their stories in their own words.

In this episode, we are honoured to hear from Aly, an artist and facilitator whose healing journey has been shaped by creativity, community, and reclaiming agency. Aly reflects on the highs and lows of healing, the power of taking back her body through art and tattoo cover-ups, and the courage it takes to show up authentically, even in moments of chaos.

Through her story, Aly shares how creativity became a vehicle for survival and self-expression, how working alongside other survivors has reminded her she is not alone, and how learning to feel her feelings has helped her move through life with more softness and strength. She describes healing like an orange, layered, bittersweet, and full of unexpected nourishment.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Aly’s story with care, openness, and respect.

Take Care Warnings: This episode includes mentions of sexual assault, trauma, grief, shame, and navigating harm in relationships. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space. This season, we are passing the mic with intention and holding space for Black survivors to share their stories in their own words.

In this episode, we are honoured to hear from Alya, a poet, artist, and storyteller whose healing journey has been both tender and courageous. Alya reflects on the isolation that can follow harm, and the conscious choice it takes to keep living, keep creating, and keep choosing yourself again and again.

Through her story, Alya shares how self-expression has been a lifeline, from podcasting to writing to painting, and how faith with an asterisk has helped her expand her understanding of the divine beyond rigid walls. She describes healing like the sound of waves, a reminder that even when life crashes hard, it always finds its rhythm again.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Alya’s story with care, softness, and deep respect.

Take care warnings: reflections on deep personal change, emotional processing in stillness, grief, and navigating inner transitions. Please listen with care.

Welcome back to Take Up Space.

In this episode, we sit with Latifah, a thoughtful, reflective soul whose healing journey has unfolded through cycles of shedding, becoming, and beginning again. Latifah speaks about healing as a series of deaths and rebirths, moments where old versions of herself fall away so new truths can emerge. She shares how silence, stillness, and honest self-reflection have challenged her, softened her, and grounded her.

Through her story, Latifah reflects on the support of her uncle, the healing power of movement, the importance of self-nurturing, and the practice of showing up as her most authentic self. Her reflections remind us that healing is not linear. It shifts, surprises, humbles, and expands us.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Latifah’s story with care and openness.

Take care warnings: emotional overwhelm, family dynamics, identity, and personal healing. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space.

In this episode, we are honoured to sit with Uvie, a creative, community-minded soul whose story is shaped by self-discovery, change, and choosing growth. Uvie shares what it has been like to step into independence, navigate shifting life plans, and slowly reconnect with herself through art, friendship, and community.

Through her reflections, she speaks about learning to listen to her own needs, grounding herself during uncertainty, and building a circle of support that reminds her she is not alone. Her story is a reminder that healing can be quiet, creative, and deeply relational.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding space for Uvie’s story with care.

Take Care Warnings: postpartum depression, trauma, emotional overwhelm. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space! This season, we are passing the mic with intention.

In this episode, we are honoured to hold space and hear from Ro, a mother, dancer, wellness practitioner, and lover of all things whimsical. Ro invites us into a story shaped by tenderness, honesty, and the ongoing work of healing.

Through her reflections, Ro speaks about moving through postpartum depression, rediscovering trust in herself, navigating sensory overwhelm, and learning to offer herself grace on days when the light feels far away. She shares how community helps her breathe again, how dance reconnects her to her body, and how motherhood continues to stretch, teach, and reshape her.

Ro’s story is full of texture. It holds moments of honesty, humour, vulnerability, and quiet transformation. It reminds us that healing is not linear, and that there is power in naming where we are, even when the path feels unclear.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding Ro’s story with softness and openness.

Check out Ro's work: https://www.wildroga.com/

Take care warnings: mentions of gender-based violence, abuse, grief, trauma, and emotional distress. Please take care while listening.

Welcome back to Take Up Space! Take Up Space is a place where stories breathe. A place created by Project Agape to honour the voices and lived experiences of our community. For this season, we chose to slow down. To listen closely. To pass the mic with intention.

In Season 4, each episode is shaped around a single storyteller. Their truth. Their journey. Their voice. Today, we are honoured to pass the mic to Meghan, and to hold space for her story.

This episode carries moments of healing, joy, grief, and transformation. It reminds us how powerful it is when someone chooses to share a piece of their life, and how much we learn when we show up as listeners.

Thank you for joining us, and for holding space for Meghan with care and softness.

Take Care Warnings: discussions of trauma-informed parenting, the challenges of Black motherhood, and the emotional complexities of raising children through adolescence and into young adulthood

Welcome back to Take Up Space!

In this episode, Aunty Bola, Eniola, Esther and Joy explore the intersection of trauma-informed parenting, the resilience of Black motherhood, and the unique experiences of raising children through the transitional stage from being teenagers to young adults.

Take Care Warnings: discussions of parental abandonment, grief, trauma, emotional complexity, fatherlessness, voluntary abandonment, family dynamics, and the impact of growing up in single-parent households.

Welcome Back to Take Up Space!

In this episode, Esther, Eniola and Joy dive into the emotional complexities of growing up without a father and the impact fatherless-ness has had on our sense of self. Together, we explore what it feels like to grieve a parent who is still alive, navigate the trauma of voluntary abandonment, and discuss how the absence of our fathers has shaped our lives. We also reflect on the challenges we faced growing up in households led by our mothers, and how these experiences have influenced our relationships and personal growth.