One in 3 girls in New Mexico have reported being victims of sexual violence. New Mexico ranked 50th in the nation in 2022 for child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Today, our media is rife with violence, strife and discord with a smattering of positive news. After the past three years of COVID-19 and its aftermath, frightening statistics about teenage depression, women’s burnout and anxiety are real and inundate us daily.

The staggering statistics facing our children are truly daunting. The social and systemic barriers girls and women face here and globally — including poverty, bias, health challenges and trauma — are all things we are very aware of as board members of Girls Inc. of Santa Fe.