Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/357002
Local Gir ls Pull Themselves Up Together I n 2009, a group of high school girls got together from all over Monterey County and asked themselves hard questions about their lives. They discovered that they felt like they had few options in their schools and their communities to meet their needs. Julie Drezner is vice president of grants and programs for the Community Foundation of Monterey County, the nonprofit organization that spear- headed the project that became known as Girls' Health in Girls' Hands. "They were charged with answering the question, 'What do girls need to be healthy?'" she says. "They formed focus groups and the surveys came back with a set of recommendations. They talked about issues of [low] self-esteem and depression and not having support and not feeling good about themselves. It was stunning how honest and real it was and how much sense it really made." The Women's Fund of the Community Foundation drew together the main organizations in the County that have programs serving girls, includ- ing the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, Girls Inc. of the Central Coast, Monterey County Health Department, Monterey County Rape Crisis Center, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and YWCA Monterey County. "We wanted to see the recommendations fulfilled and we agreed to work together," Drezner says. Key to the project was having girls lead and implement programs for themselves. "We learned that for these girls, just the experience of taking on the leadership to do this changed their lives," Drezner says. "So many of them went on to college after, telling us that going to college never crossed their mind before. One girl said, "I thought to myself, 'Why stop now?'" Now in the second year of the collaborative, GHGH has already involved 600 girls in 33 sites throughout the county. A campaign at a local school involved confronting bullying with a pos- itive approach. The girls put Post-It notes all over the school with mes- sages such as "You're beautiful," "Be kind to the person next to you," and "You're wor thwhile." Drezner is encouraged to see the girls who are now in college want- ing to return to the program to create opportunities for younger girls. "They are dedicated to being part of the solution," she says. For more information, go to www.cfmco.org/ghgh or www.ghghmonterey.org. —Brett Wilbur 98 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 4 Young women say they need more access to health services and empowering information, and a group of girl-led programs are aiming to do just that. Girls' Health in Girls' Hands pulls together services from multiple nonprofits in Monterey County. Photo: Richard Green SHORTCUTS GIVING BACK