Athens Regional Library System

The Athens-Clarke County Library and the University of Georgia School Of Social Work will partner to place student interns in the library to identify specific needs of at-risk community members, and to share information about social services while advocating for those who have difficulties accessing services. The partnership aims to address issues of societal disenfranchisement and female childhood trauma, by establishing a two-pronged project that will empower young girls, while moving the Library toward a trauma-informed environment. The project will also include a year-long after-school program that teaches leadership skills to teen girls, including written and oral communication, relationship building, conflict resolution, and teamwork. Establishing a peer-mentoring program at the Library will help address some of the issues at-risk young women face, before social disenfranchisement becomes entrenched into adulthood. By creating a trauma-informed staff, the library hopes to create a safe and welcoming space where Society's most fragile can become empowered to connect.