Girl Empowerment Re-imagined at Ophelia’s Place

CommunityFor Girls

Jun 15

Published by Register-Guard, June 3, 2020

Ophelia’s Place strives to go where the girls are.

Before the pandemic, that meant the nonprofit for the empowerment of young women — run by girls for girls — always asked, “Where do you need us?” and made it a mission to be there.

Now, Ophelia’s Place can be found at home, too, as drop-in hours, therapy and an assortment of programs move online.

“We set up a pretty special environment for the girls, where they can feel safe — whether it’s virtually or in real life, that’s the core of of what we do,” said Verna Wise Matthews, the executive director at Ophelia’s Place.

“When the pandemic started, we realized that what we do is as important as it’s ever been when people are isolated at home, and how we do it had to change.”

Instead of visiting the drop-in center on Pearl Street in Eugene, anybody from ages 10 to 18 that identifies as a girl can join two daily Zoom sessions.

“Girls have been really isolated and suddenly they have this way to have an outlet to talk to each other. They need their peers so much, and those friendships are so important,” said River Aaland, after- and out-of-school program coordinator. Aaland oversees the after-school programming, drop-in hours, activities and workshops — and how these have migrated online.

During Zoom drop-in time, girls can get a sense of normalcy and sometimes more importantly, just laugh and have fun, according to Aaland. Girls in attendance will set the tone based on what they want out of the gathering. A meeting might be sharing a “rose and thorn” — the high and low of the day — and then spent playing games. But they also may share their feelings and experiences in isolation.

Lately, a hot topic that the girls have wanted to talk together has been the video game “Minecraft,” Aaland said.

“It’s really cute because they share tips and tricks with each other. It’s especially sweet because some of these girls have never met in person and now they’re totally bonding over the thing they love,” Aaland said.

While the idea of regular visitors has shifted without a physical drop-in, a new normal is being shaped.

“In the mornings, we probably see three to five girls consistently every day, and in the afternoon, that might be closer to seven,” Aaland said. “We’re not seeing gigantic groups of girls, but what we’re seeing is core groups with more and more coming as the word gets out as they’re able to access the online services.”

Online services are created based on what the youth are interested in and want out of Ophelia’s Place.

“We’re also doing online classes. We’ve done a Mind and Body class, a writing class and a digital photography class,” Wise Matthews said.

They’ve also created a resilience art class and a feminist anime group with a Dungeons and Dragons group on the horizon.

Along with drop-in hours, the nonprofit’s therapy options have become virtual as well with different options available based on the individual’s preference. Teletherapy, videochat and even a text chat is now possible. For some, text is preferred while others have opted to wait to see their therapist when face-to-face is possible again, according to Wise Matthews.

The Zoom drop-in, teletherapy, online workshops and craft challenges cast a wider net to more girls, bringing Ophelia’s Place to more of Lane County and sometimes even beyond, Wise Matthews said. She’s been happy to welcome a girl from Portland to the virtual Ophelia’s Place feminist anime this week.

“During all of this pandemic chaos and its challenges, there a few glimmers of light, and one of them for Ophelia’s Place is the change,” Wise Matthews said. “It’s really encouraged us and forced us to get out there for more girls.”