Girls A.L.I.V.E. NC Creating Social Club For Neurodivergent Girls
An inspiring new movement for young girls in mind is taking root in the Triangle area.
Founded in August, Girls A.L.I.V.E. (Awareness, Love, Inclusion, Voice and Empowerment) is a new socialization club designed for neurodivergent girls. The organization provides a safe supportive space for the girls navigating life with mental illnesses, autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent differences to help them thrive socially and emotionally.
Founder Rhonda Gee said she found inspiration to create Girls A.L.I.V.E. after watching her own young daughter having difficulty making friends in school.
“She would come home talking about how she didn’t have friends and how she didn’t understand why,” Gee explained, “She’d say, ‘No one ever wants to play with me.’ She was always alone, or near the teacher, but always alone. It just broke my heart to see her going through that.”
She said seeing her daughter go through this made her ask the question of what she could do to support her, and other little girls who were having the same feelings her daughter was having.
The organization was created in response to the challenges neurodivergent girls from ages ten to eighteen may face— many of whom are often overlooked and misunderstood. With meetups, workshops and other creative activities, Girls A.L.I.V.E. is changing what inclusion looks like.
“I wanted to create a space that was inclusive for all girls that are neurodivergent, struggling with their neurodiversity, creating friendships, and navigating the social and emotional challenges they face,” Gee said, “At the core of this is suicide prevention, and it’s really just a way to support her social-emotional health as well as other girls.”
Gee said that Girls A.L.I.V.E. is also a no-pressure environment. As a sixth-grade math teacher, she did not want the organization to feel like a school environment where youth are required to do things. The biggest goal of the program is to facilitate an environment where the girls will want to participate and feel comfortable.
From the first few events, Gee is already seeing how impactful the organization has become, especially for young girls of color within the community.
“Several families came from Fayetteville for our last meet-up, and they said, ‘There’s such a need in Fayetteville for this.’ One parent told me, ‘For our girls, girls of color, this is so needed.’ They were just overcome with gratitude, saying, ‘Thank you for stepping out and doing this,’” Gee said.
There has always been a stigma of mental health illnesses and treatment among the Black community. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Black people are less likely to seek treatment for depression, compared to their white counterparts. Black people also have greater mistrust of health care systems and health care professionals. The cultural context of Black people influences the ways in which individuals may conceptualize mental illness and the need for treatment.”
Gee is hoping with Girls A.L.I.V.E., she is hoping to further dismantle the stigma of mental healthcare in these communities.
In the next few years, Gee’s goals for Girls A.L.I.V.E. are to expand chapters to other cities across the state, with some interest in establishing chapters nationwide. She is even hoping to have a Girls A.L.I.V.E. summer camp in the Triangle next year.
The ultimate goal for Girls A.L.I.V.E. is for every girl who joins to have greater opportunities, and to feel seen, heard, celebrated and never alone.
“Eventually, I want to get more girls this exposure, where more girls have the opportunity to socialize and become part of this movement to empower our neurodivergent community of girls,” Gee said.
For more information about Girls A.L.I.V.E., you can visit their website here.
