Journal
Jaycina Almond on Care and Collective Responsibility
One of the many joys of working at DÔEN has been forming a community filled with inspiring women from all walks of life. We first met Jaycina Almond and her daughter, Syx, eight years ago, photographing them for our Summer 2018 campaign. Our admiration and adoration has continued to grow over the years since that first shoot, and it felt like a full-circle moment to reconnect with the two of them again. We caught up with Jaycina about her journey founding Tender, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting single mothers in Atlanta, inspired by her own upbringing and motherhood experience.
Jaycina wears the Rivière Dress and Syx wears the Little Vivi Tee and Tommie Short
We first met you and Syx back in 2018 and it’s been so special to witness your motherhood journey since then. In 2020, you founded Tender Foundation—what led you to begin this work? How have your own experiences and upbringing shaped its mission?
My own journey into motherhood definitely informed the work we’re doing at Tender. I understand what it feels like to be pregnant and immediately have to ask: How do I heal and recover, how do I take care of a newborn, and how do I pay my bills all at the same time? There’s nothing that makes me different from the mamas I serve. I’m no more deserving, I didn’t work any harder. I just got lucky. And we shouldn’t need luck to live flourishing lives. So I just decided to use what I have to do the most we can for other mamas like me.
Tender centers on humanizing maternal support— as you’ve shared, on replacing the shame surrounding single mothers with empowerment. Can you share a little about what that looks like in practice?
At Tender, we’re building trust-based solutions for single moms living on the margins here in Atlanta. We operate two direct cash transfer programs, putting money directly into mama’s pockets with no strings attached, and we run a diaper bank for any family in need of diapers.
If you have ever had to access traditional social safety net services then you know just how dehumanizing the process can be—having to prove your “deservedness” over and over again and being met with suspicion and judgement throughout the whole process. There’s this underlying idea in our culture that poor families, especially families led by single mamas, cannot make “good” decisions for themselves or their children. We believe mom knows best, and that our families are experts in their own lives and can budget, stretch, and maneuver their own money how they see fit.
From the stories we tell and how we tell them to our simple, straightforward application form, our goal is community care rooted in dignity and trust every step of the way.
You’ve spoken about challenging the idea that single motherhood or financial hardship are individual failures. How do you hope to continue changing that narrative, both through Tender and more broadly?
Yes, from where I sit, the idea that being poor is an individual failure is one of the more harmful narratives in our world. In the US, we don’t have paid family leave, universal childcare, universal healthcare, we’re all battling impossible housing costs, etc… These are systemic issues. Our work at Tender is about orienting around empathy, care, policy change, and the understanding that we do have a collective responsibility for the world we live in.
Beyond the direct service work we do, I hope we can continue building towards a cultural shift—so when we see people struggling, we don’t ask why or how, but we instead interrogate how we even allow humans to struggle to live flourishing lives in the first place.
Jaycina wears the Esperance Dress
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“There’s nothing that makes me different from the mamas I serve. I’m no more deserving, I didn’t work any harder, or anything. I just got lucky. And we shouldn’t need luck to live flourishing lives.”
What does your community look like today, within Tender and in your own life? How do direct assistance and emotional support work together in the way you show up for mothers?
To be quite honest, without community in my own life there would be no Tender. The DÔEN team has seen it firsthand! My best friend was there at our first shoot to hold Syx between outfit changes. For the past nine years, she has always been there for Syx, whether that’s traveling with me to work or picking Syx up from school. The people in my life who love Syx and I and hold us up make my life possible.
Tender’s community is a constellation of the best people: our mamas we serve, the mamas who volunteer to deliver diapers to other mamas on Saturdays, brand partners, the folks who donate what they can every single month, the people on social media who may not be able to donate money but share every single post.
I hope that we are able to bridge both aspects. The wish is that our mamas receive the material support they need, but also genuinely feel respected and cared for while receiving it.
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“Caring for the most marginalized in our world should never be seen as radical. It’s really the baseline.”
The work you’re doing offers not only financial relief, but also a sense of belonging. Can you speak to the importance of both economic support and emotional solidarity in helping mothers navigate systemic challenges?
Absolutely. For those of us who have lived on the margins or experienced living paycheck to paycheck, we understand that poverty is not only a financial experience. The mental, emotional, and physical stress of financial hardship is extremely isolating, and then there’s the shame that comes along with it. Your self-worth begins to erode away. Addressing both is important to us. Care should be dignified and affirming.
For those who feel moved by Tender’s mission, how can they get involved or support the work?
There are so many ways people can connect with us and support our work. One of the most direct ways to help is through donations, which allow us to continue funding our direct cash transfer programs, distribute diapers and essential items to families, assist with emergency needs, and respond quickly when our mothers are navigating a crisis. If you are local to Atlanta, we would love to have people volunteering at our diaper bank and organizing diaper drives.
We are incredibly lucky to partner with brands like DÔEN that help amplify our mission. We appreciate every chance we get to work with other cool folks who inspire us! Even sharing our work, engaging with our content, or talking openly about issues like diaper needs, childcare costs, paid leave, and maternal poverty helps shift public understanding and build momentum around these issues. You can always find us on Instagram or on our website.
Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon?
I’m waiting eagerly with open arms for whatever the universe brings me! I hope it involves good books, good outfits, an abundance of sun on my skin, and lots of cuddles with Syx.
At Tender, we’re dreaming big. I want to continue expanding our direct assistance programs so that we can support more mamas. Hopefully, we can build more sustainable funding streams, and continue to advocate for policies that materially support families.
I hope the future of Tender looks like more mothers feeling supported, more families experiencing relief and dignity, and more people understanding that caring for the most marginalized in our world should never be seen as radical. It’s really the baseline.
From the Archives
One of the sweet images from that first shoot with Jaycina and little Syx back in 2018.
