Peer Writing Groups

At VOX, we organize activities and projects to meet the needs and interests of fellow teens. For years, VOXers have gathered in smaller groups to use writing, talking and art to express ourselves around issues like gender identity. Each group has youth facilitators and adult volunteers who create agendas that include writing and community action activities.

Epiphany Girls Group
This group brings together young women from diverse backgrounds to discuss the problems we face and provide each other support. Using writing as a creative outlet, we address issues such as sexual assault and self esteem. In previous years, Girls Group has taken on the enormous task of informing the public about the very real threat of sexual assault, by rallying and sending letters to administration in both the school system and groups that serve young people. Also, the May 2010 blog-style issue about Dating Violence, will feature stories and information from some of Epiphany's participants this year. So, lookout for that amazing, new issue on the VOX blog in May! Girls Group strives to connect young women to each other and to the world.

VOX Girls Group Outreach
In the past, VOX brought the Girls Writing Group to our peers at Angela’s House in a Saturday morning collaborative workshop, writing and having fun.  Our goal was to express ourselves through writing and art. What resulted, in part, were powerful stories and portrait photos, collected in the April 2007 edition of VOX and four ‘zines. What you can’t see in these pages are the conversations we shared about self-esteem, love, relationships and power. Our goal is to help each girl reach a personal epiphany, feeling better about herself and having fun with peers in the process.

This year, we have expanded our Girls Group Outreach to include an Independent Living Summit. This summit will help teen girls make informed decisions about things that ffect their lives, such as healthy eating, managing money and even self defense. At the summit, we will explore these numerous aspects of living independently by participating in interactive workshops, excursions to a curbside market and other fun activities. The goal of this summit is to help teen girls become more self sufficient and to build a foundation girls will need as they enter adulthood. Look back here or on Facebook (search for Epiphany Girls Group) for more information on this event in the coming months.