Auburn-area teens find outlet to express fears, concerns

Published 6:39 pm Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Teens have few safe places to go to discuss what’s bothering them, especially when troubles arise at school or home.

But more resources are available today to address those problems, some of which can be found in public schools.

One program, now in place at Thomas Jefferson High School, is providing support for girls who might be facing difficult circumstances, among the most serious issues being domestic or date violence.

Girls Circle – supported by Auburn-based Valley Cities Counseling & Consultation – is an advocate program that allows girls the opportunity to gather, talk and resolve problems with professional guidance and assistance.

“We give them different avenues and different supplies to help,” said Gary Alexander, GEAR UP coordinator and program facilitator for Federal Way Public Schools.

The after-school program meets twice a week at the high school. The program responded to the needs of 45 girls last year, Alexander said.

The program is educational and effective, said Lora Dear, a domestic violence program manager with Valley Cities, which provides counseling and other mental health services to adults, youth and children in South King County.

“It’s a great program,” Dear said. “We like for it to reach out to all the schools.”

TJ’s innovative program is helping the needs of today’s troubled teens, said Shelly David, a domestic violence legal advocate for the City of Auburn. David hopes the program will be welcomed into more classrooms.

“Basically, it’s a program for girls, and now it’s for boys, too,” David said. “The club is an opportunity to talk about anything that’s bothering them. They have mentors, a safe place. And whatever happens in the group, stays in the group. It doesn’t go beyond that.”

One TJ student, who was introduced to the program while in the seventh grade, says the club has made a positive impact.

“It has helped out me in a lot of ways. It has helped other girls who don’t have a support system in their homes or have nobody to talk to,” the girl said.

Another student summed it up: “We don’t want girls to hold it in. We want to let people know that it’s OK to talk about it, so they don’t suffer at home.”