Over the past decade, teens have reported a dramatic increase in mental health challenges, experiences of violence and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Teen girls have fared worse than teen boys across almost all factors.
The teen program of the She Said Project called That’s What Teens Say was developed six years ago to help teen girls explore their voices and become empowered.
That’s What Teens Say recently launched in Bloomington-Normal and just hosted another weekend of workshops, culminating in a public performance Jan. 14 in Normal. For three days, girls between the ages of 13-18 worked on confidence building, public speaking, and getting comfortable sharing their stories. On the final day, the seven girls read their stories aloud to an audience of friends and family members at Heartland Theatre.
“We heard some of those girls talk about how they went through trauma year after year after year, and no one heard them and no one saw them, and they kept everything inside,” said Jenette Jurczyk, national director of the Champaign-based She Said Project.
'You’re just a girl'
One of the participants was Kh’Mara Bowie, 17, who goes to Bloomington High School.
When asked what the most challenging part of the whole experience was, she said, “For me, I think it was speaking about my assault, and just a lot of the things I went through as a young teen. Just because I was so young, it was hard to endure, and it's still hard to talk about.”
“We all know that guilt and shame flourish in darkness,” Jurczyk said. “We find that when you create a safe space for girls to explore topics that are important to them, they're willing to go there, they have a lot of stuff they want to talk about.”
In 2023 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that nearly 1 in 5 teen girls experienced sexual violence in the past year. The CDC also reported that nearly 1 in 3 teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide.
“In [the] world, in school, they're often told, ‘You're too young, you're just a girl, your opinion doesn't matter.’ And our job, our goal is to give them a space where all of that doesn't exist. Their thoughts and opinions are so important," said Jurczyk.
Their stories
Participant Harmonee Taylor, 13, said some girls her age do not have a voice.
“They don't know they can just come out and just talk to people about it, because they don't know if the people are gonna listen," she said.
For her final performance on stage, Taylor shared stories of being bullied, getting suspended, harming herself, and going through the Department of Children and Family Services.
“What made me feel worse is that I didn’t know how to talk to people about it,” said Taylor. “I thought that if I was to tell somebody how I felt, it would be embarrassing and they would think I was crazy.”
Another participant was 16-year-old Paige Roser.
“I feel like whenever I hear somebody else's story, it really helps me get through mine, and know that I am strong enough," she said.
Roser said she was really nervous to share her own story, but she was excited to go up on stage and show people who she really is.
Throughout this past weekend, participant Kh’Mara Bowie said she worked on telling her story in a comfortable way, finding the right words and finding the courage to do so.
“I really had to dig deep inside myself and collect it all together to bring it together,” said Bowie.
“They were struggling,” said Jurczyk. “And we're noticing more and more how many teen girls have lived through trauma and depression and anxiety. These are topics that are coming up again and again. And for many years, no one was talking about them. These were very taboo subjects.”
The She Said Project has done live events all across the Midwest, including in Bloomington, billed as a "platform for everyday women to share their extraordinary stories." Jurczyk said she has coached over 160 teen girls through the What Teens Say spinoff.
“Women have something to say, the timing is right, and we want to be a platform for women to have a microphone. That's the goal," she said.
Information about upcoming That’s What Teens Say events and how to bring the curriculum to communities can be found on its website.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
