My colleague and friend, Debbie Sheets, recently shared two stories with me about her work at Hendersonville High School. And, now, I want to share them with you! STARS makes a difference.
Story One:
When I think about success with students in STARS I think first about a group of girls I’ve worked with for a couple of years who all struggled with depression/suicidal thoughts and family issues. Some of them were cutters and had eating issues. Last year they shared what STARS had done for them with one of our funders and 6 of the 8 said they probably would not be alive. The other two said the support they received had helped them function much better at school since they had an outlet for their emotions.
Story Two:
Two years ago I had a girls’ support group for general teen issues and through the course of the first year all of the 8 girls reported that they had suffered either sexual or physical abuse or both. They re-named the group Survivors and were able to empower each other to begin the healing process. This year the group has continued with new girls that they reached out to who had similar issues.
