Kiryat Gat Girls: Feeling Safe and Secure

Empowering Youth

In Kiryat Gat, a group of 15 girls, aged 15-17, participated in the Alcohol and Drug Prevention Workshops. Although several of the girls participated in the previous year; they felt that the workshop had such a significant impact on their lives that they asked to continue with the group.

The group leaders succeeded in creating a circle of trust within the group and a forum in which the girls felt safe expressing their deepest feelings, concerns and fears. The girls discussed issues such as peer pressure, self-image, hopes and dreams, while earning to recognize their strengths and capabilities. In questionnaires filled out by the girls, 90% said that they would recommend the group to their friends and 80% said that the topics discussed in the meetings were very interesting and relevant to their lives.

Several quotes from the feedback questionnaires:

• “I learned a lot of new things about myself.”
• “I learned to be a better listener and hear other girls talk about their problems.”
• “I felt really comfortable with all of the girls and could openly talk about any topic.”

The group leaders consider the group a tremendous success. They succeeded in creating a forum for the girls where they felt safe and secure talking about topics that they were not able to express or address elsewhere. One unanimous sentiment expressed by the girls: they were very disappointed that the group was ending and hoped that a new one would open up soon.