Voices Still Speaking is a youth empowerment initiative dedicated to helping students build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and express themselves without fear or any insecurities.
We create safe, supportive environments where young people feel seen, heard, and encouraged to use their voice with confidence.
Through mentorship, guided conversations, public speaking activities, and community engagement, we help students grow personally, socially, and emotionally.
At Voices Still Speaking, we believe every child has something valuable to say — they simply need the space, support, and opportunity to say it.
Our mission is to empower youth through confidence-building experiences, communication development, mentorship, and leadership opportunities that inspire students to speak boldly, think confidently, and engage with the world around them.
We are committed to creating inclusive spaces where students can overcome fear, self-doubt, isolation, and anxiety while learning how to express themselves in healthy and meaningful ways.
Voices Still Speaking focuses on helping students feel comfortable being themselves while developing skills they can carry into school, relationships, leadership, and life.
Your support helps create safe, empowering spaces where youth can build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and feel heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your questions answered clearly and directly. If something is not here, we respond to every inquiry personally.
Voices Still Speaking is designed for youth who are present, capable, and engaged internally — but remain unheard externally. This includes students who struggle with low confidence, fear of participation, hesitation in group settings, or speech-related challenges such as stuttering. It is not a general public speaking program. It is a targeted communication development framework built for students who are consistently overlooked or underheard in academic and social environments.
The Lighthouse is the leadership layer of the Eight-Week Full Development Track. After students have built foundational confidence and developed technical communication skills, The Lighthouse is where they step into full ownership of their voice. Participants take on peer mentorship roles, engage with guest facilitators who are professionals in high-stakes communication fields, and deliver a final showcase speech in front of an audience of their choosing. The Lighthouse represents the moment a student stops practicing voice — and starts leading with it.
The One-Day Intensive is a single 1.5 to 2-hour session — a powerful entry point that creates a first real moment of voice for participants. The Four-Week Foundational Series builds on that through weekly progressive sessions, ending with a live speech and written outcome report. The Eight-Week Full Development Track is the flagship experience — taking students from foundational confidence through technical skill and into leadership-level communication, culminating in a public showcase. Each format stands on its own and is designed to work together as a pipeline.
The 90-Day Return Engagement is a complimentary follow-up session included at no additional cost with the Four-Week and Eight-Week programs, scheduled within 90 days of program completion. It is not an add-on — it is a built-in commitment to your students. This session reconnects participants with the framework, tracks continued growth, reinforces communication behaviors, and identifies which students are ready to advance. For Eight-Week graduates, it specifically tracks Lighthouse speakers and measures lasting behavioral impact. Most programs charge extra for this. We include it because the work does not end on the last day.
Every program includes structured pre and post self-assessments across five speaking confidence indicators, facilitator observation logs tracking participation and behavioral shifts per session, and a final live speech milestone. At the close of every engagement a written Post-Program Outcome Summary is delivered to your organization. In our delivered pilot, participants self-rated their comfort at an average of 3.5 out of 10 before the program and 7 out of 10 after a single session — a 100% increase. That is not a projection. That is what happened.
Every participant walks away with something real and lasting. They leave with a lived experience of speaking in front of others — and completing it. They gain a structured communication method they can apply immediately in classrooms, interviews, and everyday life. They receive a Certificate of Completion recognizing their growth. Your organization receives a written Post-Program Outcome Summary documenting individual and group-level shifts across five tracked indicators. For Four-Week and Eight-Week participants, there is also a 90-Day Return Engagement to reinforce progress. For Eight-Week graduates, the outcome is even deeper — technical communication skills, leadership identity, peer mentorship experience, and a public showcase moment they will carry for the rest of their lives. The goal is not a certificate on a wall. The goal is a student who speaks differently in every room they walk into after this program ends.
Investment is structured around the format and cohort size your organization selects. Programs are priced to reflect professional delivery, facilitator expertise, and measurable outcomes — not a generic workshop rate. Every program includes facilitator time, all materials, pre and post assessments, the final speech milestone, and a written outcome report. The Four-Week and Eight-Week programs also include the complimentary 90-Day Return Engagement at no additional cost. It is also worth noting that The Lighthouse — our leadership development layer valued at $1,000 — is included at no additional charge with any Four-Week or Eight-Week program enrollment. We encourage the conversation. The right format for your youth matters more than the number, and we will always find a structure that works.
Our model is built around quality of impact, not volume. The optimal cohort size is 10 to 15 participants, where impact is deepest and each student receives meaningful attention. Programs accommodate up to 20 participants with a single facilitator. Groups of 21 or more require a second facilitator and an adjusted rate applies. We do not overload a session — the participant experience is always protected first.
Very little. A designated consistent space — chairs in a circle or semi-circle, no tables required. A primary point of contact for scheduling. Assistance identifying and enrolling participants. Support integrating sessions into your existing programming calendar. All curriculum, materials, facilitators, assessments, and outcome reporting are provided entirely by Voices Still Speaking. You bring the space and the students. We bring everything else.
Programs are led by Voices Still Speaking certified facilitators, including founder Abdul Haye. Every format also includes access to guest facilitators — professionals whose daily work demands high-stakes communication. This includes school principals and educators, business and client-facing professionals, community leaders and advocates, and nurses and healthcare professionals. Guest facilitators are selected to match the cohort and context, giving participants a living example of how voice becomes leverage in the real world.
Yes. Bilingual Spanish support is available to expand access and participation. If your youth population includes Spanish-speaking students, we can accommodate that within our delivery structure. Mention this during the partnership conversation so we can align the right facilitator and materials for your cohort.
Yes. Voices Still Speaking is built for flexible delivery. Sessions can be integrated as in-class support, small group intervention, or afterschool and community programming. For Parks and Recreation departments and community organizations, sessions are designed to slot directly into existing youth programming calendars with minimal disruption and maximum consistency.
Reach out through the contact page or directly at info@voicesstillspeaking.org or (302) 277-3440. From there, we have a brief conversation to identify which program format best fits your organization, confirm cohort size and scheduling, and align on a start date. We handle everything from that point forward. There is no complicated onboarding — just a conversation and a commitment to your youth.
