In a story published in the April 10 Regional Optimist, "Funds to aid teenage girl empowerment program," the program receiving funding from Association of Saskatchewan Realtors Legacy Grant Program in Saskatchewan was misidentified.
The Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre has been awarded a grant to help operate a 10-week Teen Girl Empowerment Group.
The Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre has facilitated Girl Power and 2BBoys Pre-teen (ages 9-12) Empowerment groups at local schools for the past three years. Due to the positive response and feedback from these groups, the centre saw a need to offer a similar program for teens in high school - a program that would cover some of the same areas but more in depth, have topics that would create discussion, topics that give the teens knowledge and skills that they can use in everyday life.
"We want teens to be empowered," says Nicole Whitton, executive director.
The Teen Empowerment group was created by one of the centre's counsellors; Julie Huestis. The centre felt it was necessary to be able to provide a group to teen girls between the ages 14 and 16 as there are many different issues that teens face while in high school. The program outline is:
Introduction/journal writing/relationship building
Girls and the media/body image
Meditation /personal power/communication
Relationship and peers (healthy relationships/boundaries)
Anger management/bullying
Drugs and alcohol
The centre is currently running a pilot project of the 10-week group at the North Battleford Comprehensive High School.
The teens are encouraged to provide feedback throughout the group and at the end they will fill out an evaluation form.
Currently, the empowerment group does not have a name, so the Centre has asked the girls for suggestions on a name and logo design.
