Healing the Mind: The Chicago Initiative Transforming Lives of Teenage Girls

Photo byKeith Jones

Our nation’s teenage daughters are at crisis levels of mental health. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports are chilling: 60% of high school girls consistently faced overwhelming sadness or hopelessness last year. Sexual violence was experienced by 20% of girls during that same year, and a quarter of them made plans to kill themselves.

These are not mere numbers. These numbers represent surpassed girls—so many of them each year—who are taking on society’s expectations, vying for peers acceptance, trying to meet their own adolescent milestones, and who are in need of a very well-crafted intervention.

The Chicago Solution: Working on Womanhood (WOW) Program

In response to this crisis, Chicago introduced the Working on Womanhood (WOW) program, aiming to provide a safe space for girls to share their experiences, receive counseling, and build resilience. Created in 2011 at 11 Chicago public high schools, specifically to confront the unique pressures confronting Black and Latina girls and fashioned by Black and Latina women, WOW is in large part group therapy sessions. In them, girls discuss their traumas, fears, and often hopes communally and in an atmosphere of sisterly guidance.

The Success Stories: Real-life Transformations

One of the many success stories from the WOW program is that of Shekinah Jackson. Bullied for her appearance and silenced by her peers, Shekinah entered high school with low self-esteem and a belief that she would never be good enough. However, through the WOW program, she found a supportive community and learned to embrace her true self. The program's impact goes beyond individual stories. It has created a ripple effect, empowering girls to seek help, build confidence, and envision a brighter future.

The Research and Data: Evaluating WOW's Impact

The WOW program hasn’t been merely a panacea. A comprehensive study by the University of Chicago’s Education Lab has shown remarkable reductions in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder for participants. Though it hasn’t proven a direct impact on academic performance, the WOW program was designed to address mental health, not just raise bats as a team-building exercise, and it allows for longer-term benefits like improved long-term attendance. It would be hard to imagine that a program that healed wounded combat veterans had made no impact because its participants didn’t ace their multiple-choice tests.

The Future: Expanding the Reach of WOW and Addressing Barriers

The success of the WOW program has led to its expansion beyond Chicago, reaching cities like Boston, Dallas, and Kansas City. However, challenges remain. There is a pressing need for funding, a shortage of mental health professionals, and a call for more research to further refine and adapt the program. Despite these hurdles, the vision remains clear: to make WOW a national model, ensuring that every girl, regardless of her background, has access to the support she needs.

Attribution

WBEZ Chicago Article