Class gives girls power

By JUDD WILSON

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Teaching local girls to have healthy boundaries and keeping them out of bad relationships is the purpose of “Girl Power,” a class led by Ruthanne McKahan and Aida Ortiz.

The pair are group leaders with Abuse Recovery Ministry & Services. “Girl Power” takes girls through 10 lessons covering topics such as self-worth, boundaries, warning signs of unhealthy relationships, anger, depression, decision making, and goals.

Ortiz said a lot of the girls in “Girl Power” come from abusive situations, or have seen their parents in bad divorce situations. McKahan said that if the girls don’t learn the skills to identify healthy versus abusive situations, they will fall right back into abusive relationships.

The class is in its fourth year in Coeur d’Alene, and is designed for girls ages 12-15.

“They’re little but they’re already beginning to form boundaries, interact with friends, boys, form expectations of grades, social media,” and so on, Ortiz said.

“Girls need it. They gravitate towards it,” Ortiz said.

“The girls open up to us. They love being listened to,” McKahan said.

Girls at that age are being desensitized by media and peers, said Ortiz. At local schools, students compete in sexually assaulting one another through uninvited slaps and touches in sensitive areas, she explained. Many girls “think it’s acceptable behavior,” she continued, until they look at it outside the lens of their social environment.

“That’s assault,” McKahan said.

It is crucial to equip 11-12-year-old girls’ minds with the power of discernment so they can say “no” to inappropriate situations, Ortiz said. Some girls have taken the “Girl Power” class twice and plan on returning for a third session, McKahan added, and they are more than welcome to do that. It becomes “our class” to the girls, she said.

ARMS is a faith-based, nondenominational Christian organization that began in Oregon in 1997. It’s active in 16 states and several nations, said McKahan. She explained that girls can expect the discussions to be based on faith, but that the class is not designed to cram religion down their throats. It’s helpful to be able to contrast bad behaviors some boys display with the fruits of the Holy Spirit described in the Bible, or the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, McKahan said.

Each weekly class session is highly interactive, with the girls doing most of the talking, Ortiz said.

“We ask them what’s going on in their life. We talk to them,” she said.

Some homework is involved to help the girls apply what they learn to their own lives. The $10 class fee can be waived if costs are an issue.

Ortiz and McKahan said originally they offered the class to high school and college-age girls, but found that they had already experienced too much pain and numbness for the class to be effective. The group leaders refer to professional counselors and agencies when needed, they said.

Girls interested in joining the next “Girl Power” class should contact Ortiz at 208-771-4139 or sign up online at armsonline.org. The next session will begin Jan. 21, 2019.