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Announcing Girls Moving Forward

Jan 12, 2021

Author: Devon Anderson

A new pilot program created by Justice Forward will support girls mental health with specialized counseling.

Nearly 30 percent of juveniles arrested are girls or young women, and their share of arrests, detainment, and court cases has steadily increased over the past two decades. Often girls of color and girls living in poverty, they are victims of violence, including physical and sexual abuse. They are typically nonviolent and pose little or no risk to public safety. 

Adolescent girls are seen in four Harris County Juvenile Specialty Courts:
A majority of girls in these courts have been exposed to trauma and have developed PTSD. This exposes them to higher rates of depression, substance abuse, self-harm and participation in risky sexual behaviors. The Specialty Courts are supportive of trauma-informed programming to help girls move forward and prevent girls from reentering the juvenile court system, but it can be costly. And while the court system regularly works with excellent counselors and therapists to help clients in their recovery journey, the specific traumas that frequently affect girls, including sexual trauma, can be best addressed by professionals who specialize in this area. 

That’s why we at Justice Forward decided to create and seek funding for a pilot project called Girls Moving Forward to provide specialized trauma counseling for this adolescent population. Thanks to the generosity of H-E-B and The William Stamps Farish Fund, we were able to launch the program at the start of this month.

During the pilot, 10 girls will receive one hour of counseling every week over a six-month period. Justice Forward will work with Harris County Juvenile Specialty Courts to identify girls that could benefit from the program and pair them with counselors who work with adolescents in the community with similar trauma issues. Transportation to and from the sessions will also be provided by Justice Forward in partnership with the Harris County RIDES program.

We have high hopes for this program. The goal of the program is for the girls participating to be able to face the reality of past events, reducing or eliminating their trauma symptoms, and improving daily functioning. They will also gain skills to help prevent them from reentering the justice system.

At Justice Forward, we’ve seen what can happen when the support of a Specialty Court program, combined with the right therapy, allows girls and young women to believe in themselves and to move past the trauma and struggles they’ve faced at such a young age. We hope to turn Girls Moving Forward into a program that helps young women heal, recover and reach their potential for years to come.

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