Putting Black Girls at Promise Through Community Support

If you’ve ever wondered why some mental health programs actually stick while others fade after a single event, this conversation is for you and your organization. We’re joined by Fran Frazier of the Black Girl Rising Research Project and Rebecca Jones, Child and Adolescent Services Director with the Mental Health Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County.  This episode is centered on what it takes to support African American girls with honesty, rigor, and care.We start with the reality many Black girls face in Ohio: higher exposure to trauma, community violence, instability, and chronic stress. Then we move to what doesn’t get enough airtime in suicide prevention and youth mental health work: resilience, leadership, and the power of being taken seriously. Fran shares how decades of research and listening shaped a girl-led model that replaces lectures with facilitation. Rebecca walks us through what it looks like to bring Black Girl Rising into a new community with fidelity, including Love Letters to Black Girls, mother-daughter conversations, and the long-game goal of growing girls grow into ambassadors. Subscribe, share this with someone who cares about youth wellbeing, and leave a review so more listeners can find these suicide prevention conversations.