By: Sherrikka Myers
I grew up as a child who stutters in a single-family household in the inner-city of Baltimore, MD. Since we had limited resources, there wasn’t an opportunity to go to a local pathologist as most kids with the same issue do. So, what did I do? I picked up a book. This would become the thing that changed the trajectory of my life more than I knew. Reading helped me overcome stuttering and my fear of speaking in public as a child.
When I had my first grandchild, I realized he stuttered, too. Lil Herbie is the name of my grandson, but it’s also the little kid inside of me who stutters. Everyone has a little kid inside of them who deals with some sort of issue. Who is the little kid inside of you? What issue(s) is that kid dealing with? How can it create change?
Once I found out my grandson suffered from stuttering, just as I did as a child, it gave me the motivation to go back to school at 35-years-old. Then, I started a nonprofit organization, Every 1 Voice Matters. This organization creates change in the life of kids who deal with low self-confidence or low self-esteem due to stuttering and/or bullying. I now use this character Lil Herbie as a way to connect with kids to promote reading through a kid-friendly YouTube series such as Reading Time with Lil Herbie and the Lil Herbie Animated Series. To reach kids further, I recently released the first book for the character Lil Herbie called “Lil Herbie’s New Home.”
I use the Lil Herbie in me to create change by creating outreach initiatives to provide a better quality of life for kids in my community. What change will you create with your inner Lil Herbie?
Sherrikka Myers is founder of Every 1 Voice Matters. She helps families of children who stutter, have low self-esteem or low self-confidence to improve their quality of life. Learn more at www. every1voicematters.org.