Tyra Wright-Johnson at Braid Mill this past Feburary. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
In 1999, Tyra Wright-Johnson made a bargain with God. She told God that if she found the strength to leave the abusive relationship she was in, she would help others after her. And that’s what happened.
Feeling blessed to be alive and out of the tragic experience, she felt it imperative to let others affected by domestic violence know she understands where they are coming from.
So after getting herself together, getting counseling, and doing the research she needed to do, she started a non-profit organization, The Women’s Solo Project (WSP), in 2009. WSP supports women and young people with programs, services, counseling, and workshops to combat domestic violence and empower them.
Her work finds a need in Philadelphia. In 2024, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported that 26 homicides —10% of total homicides — were the result of domestic violence. That same year, a Philadelphia Voice survey shared that 31% of respondents said they had been affected or knew someone who had been affected by domestic violence.
Wright-Johnson, also a trauma-certified psychotherapist by trade, says there are more layers to domestic violence than just physical. She uplifts emotional, mental, and financial control, which she says people tend to overlook.
Because of this, Wright-Johnson prioritizes creating programming and workshops on financial literacy and career development, resume writing, emotional intelligence, and social-emotional learning. All to support women to become whole and allow themselves the independence and strength to live a healthy life with dignity.
“That’s why it’s called the Women’s Solo Project, because it’s that one person that you have to really focus and identify on in order to be whole. You can’t just pick and choose what you want to work on,” she said.
Working with the youth
With experience with her own daughter, Wright-Johnson knew how important it was for her to start working with younger people, understanding that many do not talk about what is happening in their homes.
“Especially in Black and brown communities,” says Wright-Johnson. “Whatever goes on in the house, stays on in the house, right? Don’t tell our business.”
Working in schools, she was able to talk to those youth and have them identify their emotions and where they were coming from, exploring the actual root of some of their behaviors. She teaches ways to identify signs of abuse to prevent teen dating violence and healthy social-emotional skills.
“I see young girls slapping boys in the face, and I’m like, why did you do that? What made you think that was okay? And you know, there’s a story behind that. ‘Oh, my mom did it to her boyfriend,’ or ‘My mom’s boyfriend did it to her,’ or ‘My grandmom did it to me.”
Wright-Johnson’s work is needed in youth spaces. In 2023, 10.4% of high school students in Philadelphia experienced physical dating violence, and 6.6 % of Philly students experienced sexual dating violence, according to a national CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Wright-Johnson has worked in Martin Luther King High School over the past year, teaching students what healthy relationship dynamics look like.
One impact she has seen working with youth in various settings includes individual students opening up to her with real vulnerability about family abuse at home.
Working with women and children to eradicate their endured trauma is Wright-Johnson’s life mission, she said.
Despite the impact of her work, sustainability has always been a challenge.
What are the challenges?
Financing the programs and workshops that she would like to offer has been difficult through the years. WSP is a smaller organization, and she said she’s seen most of the funding and grants going toward the larger organizations.
She also cites inherent racism in funding circles.
“If I was a white woman running this organization, that money would be rolling in. Trust me… I know it. I’ve seen it,” she said.
And though larger organizations receive more funding, Wright-Johnson said her organization is often left to fill service gaps, created by a lack of patience and deep compassion.
She says program participants have told her the intimate relationship building she is able to do as a smaller organization has really been life-giving for them.
“I’ve seen or heard people say, you know what? ‘You took the time to answer my question. Thank you,’ or, ‘My goodness, I’m sorry to bother you.’ And I’m like, you’re not bothering me. This is what I’m here for,” she said.
For folks wanting to support survivors and her organization, she said they need to show up to events and be in community with those affected by domestic violence.
But, she says, it is also important to actually start talking about domestic violence and what it is, even though it is such a taboo topic.
“We have to know what it is in order for us to eradicate it. And then we have to know what it looks like in order for us to help your neighbor or your family member.”
If you or someone you know needs support with domestic violence, call the following:
–Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-866-723-3014
–National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
–Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
Maleka Fruean is Germantown Info Hub’s community organizer, a writer, and mother of four, all raised in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. She has a B.A. in journalism from Temple University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from St. Joseph’s University, and uses both to embrace the power of stories.