In the fall of 1997, Shakti Rising began, albeit, unofficially. Until September 1999 it was referred to as the “youth program” or simply “the program”. Shannon Thompson provided services via work trade: the young women worked and learned with Shannon, doing various projects in the garden, in the apothecary, and in the studio. This is what birthed the idea of doing an Apprenticeship program as opposed to a more traditional client services model. By Apprenticing, these young women were not only healing themselves, they were also learning skills to take into their lives through their careers, their holistic self care, and their commitment to community service. This was the seed of cultivating the emerging leadership in these young women.

From 1998 through September 1999, Shakti Rising was run from the studio under the house of Shannon Thompson. The studio was the Shakti Rising office and group room. It was also the herbal apothecary, library and worktrade room. Shannon held weekly groups, individual sessions and informal mentoring.  From late 1997 through today, most classes and workshops were in service of the creation of the Shakti Rising curriculum and practices.  A significant part of the program was reading and writing. Though there was no name, no formal program and no marketing, news of Shannon’s work was being passed word of mouth, from women receiving help to women who needed help.

In September 1999 Shannon moved into the first program house with several young women on Grandview Drive at Mt. Helix. From September 1999 through June 2001 the Shakti Rising model was piloted.  The services were fluid and experimental, with a small number of participants.  During that period, 34 women received some type of support from the Founder and sole staff member, of which 10 young women lived in, 12 received counseling and 12 others received harm reduction, “courting” services.  Of the 10 who lived in, 7 completed successfully.

Grant funding from Alliance Healthcare Foundation and the California Endowment from July 2002 through June 2003 enabled the formal Live In and Live Out Intensive Apprenticeship curriculum to be developed and  piloted in September 2002. In just two years, our enrollment increased to 55 women. Our budget doubled annually, entirely through diversified nongovernmental funding streams. Our educational course tripled from 2002-2003, rising to over 300 class hours delivered. This was all provided by five core staff members and a small handful of volunteers.

Today, we serve between 50-80 women on an ongoing basis, through a combination of courting (our harm reduction services), the Informal and Intensive Apprentices. We deliver over 500 hours of foundational education classes.  Additionally, we provide offsite education to at risk and foster youth through high schools and community service organizations. We train other clinicians and service providers in gender specific and trauma informed approaches. Our approximately 70 Helping Hands participate in individual and community transformation, while learning about effective service and leadership. We are developing a women specific evaluation model that measures several areas of transformation, as a critical stage in preparing for replication.