Dear friend of Shakti,

I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines – Britney Spears in Rehab, Lindsay Lohan’s Alcohol-Monitoring Bracelet Removed, Paris Hilton to Serve Jail Time – but did you ever stop and think that though these young women are famous, their problems are similar to nearly 3,000* girls in San Diego County?

The struggles young women face – especially in today’s media driven society – are complex, multi-faceted and intense.

Plus they tend to be interwoven with issues like a family history of addiction, physical and sexual abuse, body image issues, social and relationship pressure, etc. 

Here at Shakti Rising we are helping the girls and young women of San Diego county deal with the challenges they face growing up today and empower them to utilize their personal transformation as a catalyst for positive change in their families and communities. 

Young women are facing endless pressures to stay thin, look good, be successful – essentially “have it all” – and sometimes the pressures are too much. We have the power to help them before they reach that point. Our educational programs build resilience and healthy self-esteem, while providing the essential tools to address problems at their core.

We have an opportunity to grow these programs and with your help we can.  Please make a generous contribution to Shakti Rising so that we can reach more young girls and women in our community with a message of empowerment, hope and healing.

Together we can heal the Paris’, Lindsays and Britneys of our community and empower them to become strong women leaders.

For strong women and girls,

Shannon Thompson                                  Tarja Stoeckl

Founder & Visionary Director                 Co-Executive Director

* There are approximately 300,000 young women in San Diego between the ages of 15 and 30.  At any given time, according to national averages:

• 10 percent of them will struggle with depression and/or eating disorders
• 10 percent will contend with a substance abuse issue
• Between 20 and 30 percent have been sexually assaulted

Even if only one percent of these young women (3,000) needed and sought out treatment, San Diego lacks appropriate and effective treatment resources, with approximately 900 beds available for all populations.