Workshops and Counseling
Adolescence is a time of heightened psychological risk for girls. Biology, culture, psychology, and trauma leaves many girls vulnerable to periods of crisis and negative life experiences including juvenile justice involvement. More adolescent girls are arrested and incarcerated in the United States today than ever before. It is estimated that nearly three-quarters of a million girls below the age of 18 were arrested by the police, accounting for approx 26% of total juvenile arrests.
Since 1993, the number of arrests among female adolescents has increased more for most offense types, in comparison with males. Most girls are still arrested for non-violent, often drug- related crimes, however, according to FBI Reports, the largest numbers of arrests among girls are for larceny (usually shoplifting) and running away.
Although female offenders are a diverse group, many are children of color, have had significant academic difficulties, have been victims of abuse (physical, sexual, and/or emotional), come from families living in poor and unstable communities, and are substance users. Many have a sexually transmitted disease or other chronic health condition. Females bring with them into the juvenile justice system complex health and mental health issues related to sexual behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and violence. In many cases, involvement in the juvenile justice system exacerbates the difficulties they face as adolescent girls.
YLOT’s goal is to call attention to the problems of girls and provide direction and support in order to help decrease their interest and participation in criminal pursuits. YLOT was founded in 1993 for the purpose of providing a platform where pre-adolescent girls can freely discuss their issues. But more importantly, YLOT provides an enriching forum for its program participants by introducing them to basic life skills, therapeutic recreation, and cultural activities.
PHASE I – ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS
Session 1 – Accepting Discipline and Values Reorientation
Subject: UNDERSTANDING ANGER
Highlight: The purpose of this workshop is to present practical strategies for managing and healing anger and aggression. Will explore anger triggers, mind over mood, and resolving conflicts.
Subject: CLARIFYING THE NEED FOR FORGIVENESS
Highlight: The purpose of this session is to present practical strategies for managing and healing past hurts. Learning the 12 steps to forgiveness, Achieving a balance between forgiveness and healthy anger, Forgiving for the right reasons, Allowing yourself to grieve, Resolving conflict and minimizing the risk of bitterness, resentment, and stress in the workplace.
Session 2 – Commanding Respect
Subject: TEN GOOD MANNERS LESSON FOR CHILDREN
Highlight: This workshop explores and addresses various aspects of respect including; self-respect, respect for parents, guardians, family members, and authority figures in the community. It will explore social graces, provide participants with the tools to mingle in any social setting, and provide outings to the theatre, museums, movies, restaurants, etc.
PHASE II – HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Session 3 – Physical and Personal Wellness
Subject: PHYSICAL FITNESS
Highlight: This workshop is designed to enhance the participants understanding the importance of physical activities and their relationship to our over mental and physical wellness. This session will create opportunities for physical activities that are enjoyable, that promote adolescents’ and young adults’ confidence in their ability to be physically active, and that involves friends, peers, and guardians. This session will incorporate actual physical fitness activities whether aerobics, dance, walking tours, etc.
Subject: UNDERSTANDING YOUR BODY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE
Highlight: This workshop will provide a health and counseling avenue that provides knowledge and understanding of the value of preventive health care. Topics will include information on prenatal care, safe sex and pregnancy prevention, gynecology, drug abuse and mental health.
PHASE III – JOB READINESS
Session 4 – Job Readiness Skills and Application
Subject: GETTING READY FOR YOUR FIRST JOB
Highlight: This workshop will utilize counselors and trainers as mentors to the participants. These mentors will review interviewing techniques, how to complete job applications, telephone manners, and effective communication skills in the workplace.
Subject: INTRODUCTION TO PERSONAL COMPUTERS
Highlight: Program Participants will learn the benefits of working with personal computers and using Windows 2000 to manage information, run programs and access the Internet.
Subject: MICROSOFT WORD
Highlight: Program participants will learn the basic skills necessary to begin using Microsoft Word. This will include creating and saving a document, opening an existing document and using simple editing techniques.
Subject: INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET
Highlight: Program participants will learn how to gain access to the Internet and how to use its tools and resources to benefit them. This will include using Internet menus, indexed databases and other tools to locate and download publicly available software and information related to their area of interest.
Subject: HOW TO BE MONEY SMART
Highlight: What kids need to know about money. Tips that we can teach our children that can stay with them a lifetime.
PHASE IV – IMAGE BUILDING
Session 5 – The New You
Subject: PRESENTING YOURSELF POSITIVELY
Highlight: The way you present yourself, from your body language to your attire, says a lot about the amount of self-respect and self-confidence you have.
Subject: DRESSING RIGHT FOR EVERY OCCASION
Highlight: Sizing up the situation. Understanding the meaning of casual, formal, informal, and black tie.
Subject: YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PRESENTATION: YOURSELF
Highlight: How you dress, groom yourself, and handle yourself in public are all part of your “packaging.” Like a product, you can present yourself to be your most appealing. Participants will be provided with a full makeover. They will then be presented to their families, friends, and counselors during a graduation session equipped with the knowledge and skills gained from the program.
PHASE V – ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING
The purpose of these sessions is two-fold. Primarily, they are used to establish trust and build a relationship between the participant and mentor. A secondary benefit that has come as a result of this quality time spent with the participant is the opportunity to address some other concerns regarding personal hygiene, etiquette, and attire. These can range from selecting the proper undergarments for certain outfits to how frequently one should change a sanitary napkin.
Contrary to the setting of a counselor’s office, using a non-threatening environment, such as a restaurant or movie theater helps to take the participant’s mind off of the fact that this is a therapeutic encounter. The relaxed setting coupled with the separation from peers and certain authority figures, facilitates the breaking down of barriers. Thus getting her to open up and freely discuss those things that she would not discuss in the group sessions or with her parents/guardian.
One-on-one mentoring allows the opportunity to get beneath the surface of why a girl might exhibit undesired behaviors like fighting in school, truancy, substance use/abuse, wanting to run away, confusion about one’s sexuality or sexual promiscuity which all appear to be “symptoms” of a deeper issue. Because they are not in a situation or environment where they feel that everything that they do or say is being judged or analyzed, the participants are more apt to share information about themselves relating to root causes of the undesired behavior; causes such as rape, molestation, rejection, neglect, abuse, and depression.
This is vital information that may later be used in conjunction with counseling as well as for the probation officers in resolving the circumstance(s) that brought them into the court system. During the one-on-one sessions, we usually learn that these behaviors are a cry for help and once the root cause is brought out, we are in position to address the actual cause and not the symptom.