Psychologist helps boost local teens self-esteem

national report on the state of self-esteem — 7 out of 10 girls believe that they are not good enough or don’t measure up in some way. anything from their looks — to their performance in school — and relationships with friends and family members 47 abc’s lissette nunez tells us about a local program helping teens in our area. track 1 15 year-old ada is a sophomore at wi-hi — but she is in the process of transitioning to home-school. she didn’t go into detail about why — but admits — the past couple of years have been hard. until she found one year to empowerment. ada kennedy, salisbury,md “you’re just surrounded by very positive people who are very intelligent.” track 2 ada’s been in the program about two months — and explains her improvement. ada kennedy, salisbury,md “being able to calm yourself down when you’re stressed by like using yoga or different techniques or coping methods.” track 3 aside from ada there are 14 other girls participating. doctor sam scott started this non-profit organization — one year ago. the psychologist says she noticed the stresses faced by today’s teenage girls — from cyberbullying to stereotyping. and decided the solution — is giving them a positive outlet. samantha scott, psychologist “it’s a lot of stress that teenagers have to deal with these days. but i started thinking about ways that i might be able to get them more engaged of school and just positive activities.” track 4 the program is located on salisbury’s downtown plaza. the walls — covered with paintings — with inspirational quotes that the teens created themselves. the girls meet here at least once a month. doctor scott admits she didn’t create this program alone — she’s worked with the teens themselves. samantha scott, psychologist “different activities that foster mental health wellness, physical wellness, and a lot of this is community service.” track 5 the girls do everything from learning how to change a tire — to building a wheelchair ramp for a home. there’s also a self-defense class. but some of the most valuable lessons–they’ve learned from each other. zoe barry, salisbury,md “my favorite part of this program is probably spending time with all these girls and noticing how empowering a group of girls you don’t even know can be.” track 6 lissette nunez 47 abc. although one year to empowerment has their new class of girls for this year– they are still looking for girls who are interested in volunteering and interning– and are also accepting donations keep the organization up and running for future girls. find out how to get involved and donate to one year to empowerment online – just logon to 47-abc-dot-com. and we have an update now – to a story we