Westcare of Pahrump, in conjunction with the Juvenile Probation Department, will facilitate a Girls Awareness Group for young women ages 12 to 18. The program will consist of two hour-long group sessions and last for 12 weeks, for a total of 24 sessions.

Francine Winters, the prevention specialist who will be leading the group sessions, said that the purpose of the meetings would be to help young women "honor who they are, get comfortable with who they are."

During the meetings, Winters will cover a range issues with the young women that will include coping with stress, effective communication, such as learning to speak out, "the good girl syndrome", various kinds of abuse (including self-abuse), as well as the "financial, cultural inequalities, background and history -- or 'herstory' -- (of women)."

Issues such as dating, sexual assault and sexual harassment will be discussed as well.

"We want to create a support group for girls where they're seeing the commonality of their experiences and celebrating the strengths of who they are and unwilling to accept some of the false barriers," said Winters.

The meeting curriculum will be based on a combination of two programs, Women's Life and Voices, that have been used for the past two years at Westcare's Rancho campus in Las Vegas to treat women there. Both programs have had a high success rate limiting incidents of violence, including those involving self-destructive behavior.

The girls who will participate in the Pahrump group sessions are not undergoing treatment, however. Many of those attending have chosen to do so, or have been referred to the group through other networks, and are there for a "number of reasons," said Winters. She stresses that much of the group's work will be focused on prevention.

"Girls have traditionally been the ones that have been ignored as the at-risk group ... for some reason, the services aren't there as much. So they need support, and they need support of each other."

During the meetings, Winters will also lead activities that include role playing, music and visualizations, and a drumming circle.

"Drumming is a powerful way to get kids to get bonded, be active listeners, and reduce their stress level," said Winters.

Keeping up journals will also be a "huge" part of the sessions.

Winters is also excited about the opportunity that the group presents to teach her about herself.

"I'm really honored as a women to get a chance to talk to young women and share with them," said Winters. "What a chance to talk to young women about things that maybe nobody else has talked to them about. In the process of going over the issues that young women face today; you know, issues that we still face of inequality, of how they're perceived by culture ... and all these other things ... in the process of talking to other young women and encouraging them to challenge those norms you start looking at yourself."

Although the group is already filled for the current sessions and new members will not be accepted, another program will begin in February.