Peer Power Network

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

San Fernando Valley County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Youth of color in Los Angeles—especially middle school girls living in poverty—face chronic disconnection from opportunity, safety, and wellness. In LAUSD, over 32% of students were chronically absent in 2023–24, often due to stress, housing instability, or lack of emotional support. Most GALS LA students previously attended LAUSD schools. At the same time, over 284,000 California youth experience major depression, yet two-thirds go untreated. Without safe spaces to build identity and trust, many girls internalize trauma, disengage from school, and miss key developmental milestones. This leads to a cycle of poor health, academic underachievement, and limited access to leadership or economic opportunity. Traditional mental health systems are reactive, adult-centered, and too often miss the voices of the youth most impacted. What’s needed are healing-centered, youth-led environments that affirm identity, cultivate connection, and give girls the power to shape their schools and futures.

The Peer Power Network will train middle school girls of color at GALS LA to become peer mentors, restorative leaders, and facilitators of wellness and belonging. Launching in Fall 2025 from GALS LA’s Student Leadership Council, the program will train an initial cohort of 15 youth leaders in SEL facilitation, restorative practices, and mentorship. These students will lead over 30 small-group mentoring sessions throughout the year for approximately 75–100 5th grade and middle school students from at least three local schools, including campuses already connected through GALS LA’s “shadow day” program.
Sessions will take place through afterschool and weekend programming, in partnership with school sites and Shero's Rise, a nonprofit currently operating at GALS LA with a shared mission of empowering girls of color. Mentoring sessions will include community circles, trauma-informed peer discussions, and movement-based activities designed to help students regulate stress and develop trust. Topics will include navigating friendships, setting boundaries, cultural identity, and advocacy skills. This initiative is embedded in GALS LA’s leadership and wellness infrastructure and is designed to be replicated at other schools. Long-term sustainability will come from deepening school and nonprofit partnerships and aligning with California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative systems to access future public health funding.

When this work succeeds, middle schools across LA County will become spaces where youth of color—especially girls—feel seen, supported, and powerful. Students will lead healing work through peer mentorship and restorative circles, creating stronger relationships and safer school climates. Younger students will gain trusted mentors, while trained leaders grow into facilitators, advocates, and changemakers. This peer-to-peer infrastructure can reduce chronic absenteeism, increase engagement, and strengthen emotional safety—key drivers of long-term academic success. As the model expands, more campuses will adopt youth-led strategies aligned with California’s CYBHI wellness priorities. This isn’t just a program—it’s a framework for systemic change, grounded in the leadership of the youth most impacted by inequity.