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GIRLS COURT
For four years, Honolulu Pen Women have led activities for Girls
Court. The only gender-specific program in the country, Hawaii's Girls
Court runs a yearlong program for girls who would otherwise be in the
juvenile detention system.
Recent Pen Women-run sessions include aromatherapy, ecstatic dancing,
public speaking, playwriting, and collage. Girls have taken home tote
bags they have decorated; books authored by Pen Women; and arts projects
such as a 'home,' a house-shaped board filled with pictures, words, and
decorations that embodied their comfort zone.
For the celebration that ends their year, the girls created Power
Point presentations of who they are and what they hope their future will
be. Judge Karen Radius, who initiated the Girls Court program, has
repeatedly expressed her support of Pen Women's activities. After seeing
a girl who started off sullen or restless create art or write a poem,
most presenters leave feeling they have gained more than they have
given. Pen Women's Girls Court program enriches both their lives and
ours.
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