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Rise Sister Rise
Evaluating African American Girls' Experience of Trauma and Resiliency in Ohio's Communities

Rise Sister Rise is a research project exploring the ways urban adolescent African American girls experience their world and the ways in which they are affected by those experiences. The project is a partnership between Fran Frazier, WomensWorkfcf, Inc., RSR Principal Investigator, the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) Office of Research and Evaluation, and Mental Health America Summit County.

Because research suggests that urban African American girls are significantly exposed to more traumatic stressors than children of other racial groups, the project surveyed girls in Akron, Columbus, Dayton, and Lima ages 11 to 18 years old, on resiliency and barriers to resiliency. The research study has three primary purposes: identify the impact of childhood and adolescent trauma on urban adolescent African American girls; identify those resiliency factors that support their healthy behavior and outcomes; and, inform the development of supportive community re-sources for African American girls. This work will guide us in supporting African American girls across all of Ohio.

A Panel Discussion, "When We Were Girls: Telling Our Stories of Trauma and Resiliency" will be held March 29th at the Lincoln Theatre from 2 – 4 in the afternoon. The panel includes author Terrie M. Williams; Valerie Rainford, Chair of Home Lending Diversity Advisory Group at JP Morgan Chase; Ohio Senator Charleta Tavares; Angela Hollis, Co-founder of the NYC Black Women for Black Girls Giving Circle; and Dr. Angela Neal Barnett, author and psychology faculty at Kent State University. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Elaine Richardson, Professor of Literacy Studies in the OSU College of Education. More information about the panel discussion can be accessed at www.risesisterrise.org.

We look forward to presenting the results of the research in July. And the Women's Fund of Central Ohio will be hosting a luncheon on how to use these findings when funding programs for African American girls.

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