Start date: FEBRUARY 7
End Date: May 1 (final week and graduation ceremony)
Day of the week: Wednesday
Time of the program: 6:00-8:00 pm, dinner each week served between 6:00-6:30pm
Location: Edgerly Gym and Cafeteria
The Somerville Parks and Recreation Teen Programming has partnered with Girls LEAP of Boston to host a FREE 11-week female, and non-male, physical and emotional self defense course for teens ages 12-18. This course will occur weekly, on Wednesday nights, at the Edgerly Education Center. Throughout the course, the group of female, and non-male, teens will work with Girls LEAP instructors, and Recreation Teen Program staff, to create an inclusive, educational, supportive, and fun group for our teens!
This course includes
- 11 weeks of 2-hour long sessions, first 30 minutes eating dinner, next hour and a half Girls LEAP Program
- Self-defense skill learning and building
- Emotional defense skills
- Catered dinner from either the Neighborhood Restaurant or Daddy Jones each week
- Healthy relationship building with other teens and adult mentors
- And more!
Additional information:
The program overview is explained below, as found on the Girls LEAP website:
"In our programs and workshops, you’ll see girls and gender-expansive youth who are confronting things that scare them and learning that they have the power to change the equation; that they can avoid danger, de-escalate conflict, and, if absolutely necessary, fight back. You’ll see students learning how to keep themselves safe but above all, you’ll see them learning about themselves; learning that they have courage, that their voices are strong and they can use those voices to set boundaries, to make their needs understood, and to shape their futures.
We cover basic physical self-defense skills including:
- Awareness skills
- Escape skills
- Using our voice as our first line of defense
- Strike skills (how to hit, kick, etc.)
- How to defend yourself from the ground
Girls' LEAP brings in an inter generational teaching staff and aims for a teacher-to-student ratio of 1:4, so there's lots of individual attention on every student. We know that many students and teens are likely to have already experienced violence in their lives, so we take a trauma-informed approach. Students determine their own comfort level in participating, we foster a culture of consent, and physical boundaries are respected.
Girls’ LEAP strives to empower students to be their own champions in all aspects of their lives, to create a safe space for all program participants, to build self-worth, to give each girl the opportunity to set her own physical boundaries."
Why we are partnering?
Girls LEAP Vision: "Girls’ LEAP’s vision is a world where all girls ?and gender-expansive youth grow into powerful, capable adults realizing the power of their aspirations"
Girls LEAP Mission: Girls' LEAP partners with local schools and community centers to deliver empowerment and self-defense training to girls aged 8-18 in Greater Boston. In our programs, all girls and gender-expansive youth are encouraged to value and champion their own safety and well-being. We teach youth that they have a right to be safe and how to defend themselves when necessary.
We believe all girls and gender-expansive youth deserve to grow up safe and free from violence – and that empowerment is violence prevention. Our goal is to provide all teens with the tools and skills to keep themselves safe, both emotionally and physically.
The Somerville Parks and Recreation Teen Programs Vision: Our vision is to provide all of our teen members with the ability to make healthy and meaningful choices.
The Somerville Parks and Recreation Teen Programs Mission: Our mission is to provide all Somerville teen members, ages 12-18, with equitable current and future access to the
resources, support, and life skill building”.