When we meet a girl, whether through a court-mandated program, a social worker, an alternative school, or the child welfare system, there is one thing we can be certain of: her story includes trauma. 

Her brain is often stuck in fight-or-flight mode, her nervous system is dysregulated, and she literally has limited choices available to her. The coping strategies she reaches for might be unproductive, but they are often quite logical considering her life experiences. 

That’s why we focus on meeting girls with safety, connection, healthy modeling, and a new sense of identity and purpose so that more choices become available to them.

We help girls understand that they are more than their life experiences and more than the labels society has put on them. They are resilient, strong, smart, and strategic, with an inner hero and endless possibilities waiting to be unleashed. 

 Our Programs 

Psychosocial Education 
We use an evidence-based curriculum to help girls discover their identity, develop life skills, navigate challenges, and become healthy, productive adults who know their worth and purpose. Our empowerment classes and programs include topics such as understanding strengths and weaknesses, boundaries, self-esteem, safety, healthy relationships, leadership, and purpose. 

Crisis Support
We are the first responders for female runaways in Davidson County. We are also trained and equipped to identify trafficking situations and get girls to safety. Our girls know they can always call us in crisis, whether they need a place to stay, have a run in with the justice system, or need help leaving a bad relationship. 

Mentoring
A connection with a healthy adult provides a girl with two key resources to navigate life:
1) A safe, supportive relationship that can help her regulate her nervous system and cope with stress.
2) A role model who can help her see different choices and new possibilities for herself. 

We train individuals in the community to work with girls who have experienced adversity, and we thoughtfully match them in 1:1, long-term mentoring relationships —relationships where both people learn from each other and enrich each other’s lives.

Connection & Community
Our work is highly personal and individualized. Though we use words like "prevention," "trauma-informed," and "evidence-based" (and these are very important parts of what we do), no official term or formal program can capture the text message from a girl who needs a ride to work or the phone call from someone who is struggling and needs to be reminded of her worth. Our staff maintains a 1:1 relationship with every one of our girls, for as long as they need us, so they know they are never alone.