OCONTO – High school can be a hectic time for teenagers as they learn to balance schoolwork, jobs, relationships and extracurricular activities. However, the difficulties don’t end there. According to the National Organization of Women (NOW), 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies by age 13. This percentage grows to 78% by the time girls are 17.
In an effort to promote healthy body images and behaviors, Kacey Eisch-Ermis, Team Leader Bellin Health Fitness and BHOH Business Operations, started the H.E.R. (Health, Empowerment and Resilience) program in 2023 after working with a middle school lifting group.
“A lot of girls were signing up to do this, but they were so intimidated by having boys in it with them…they weren’t able to be themselves,” she shared.
After seeing first-hand the need for young women to have a group where they could learn healthy behaviors and express themselves without judgement or pressure, Eisch-Ermis began working on a program aimed at this demographic.
By working with the grant team at Bellin Health, Eisch-Ermis received funding through the Womens Fund Of Greater Green Bay.
The first cohort of H.E.R. began in October, 2013, and consisted of twelve weeks of two-hour weekly meetings at the Bellin facility. Each meeting would consist of a nutrition lesson, snack and workout for the 12 girls who were nominated to join the group.
Lori Eklund Walsh, a therapist at Bellin Health, also joined the H.E.R. program to provide information regarding mental health and led group meditation.
After this first cohort of H.E.R., Eisch-Ermis came away with ideas about how to improve the program, which included going to the girls herself. She explained, “I want to go to the girls. I want to make it so they don’t have to choose between me and an extracurricular or me and homework.”
Eisch-Ermis began working with the mental health navigator at Oconto High School to find a way to make the program more accessible. Through this, she was able to host H.E.R. in an unused classroom during the last hour of the school day, the ‘flexi’ hour, to better fit the girls’ schedules.
Currently, the H.E.R. program is quickly approaching another cohort at the Oconto High School. In its most recent version, students are nominated by teachers to join the program. Eisch-Ermis will meet with the girls 12 times to teach them how to take control of their own nutrition and lead healthier lives. Eklund Walsh will continue to provide mental health support, with planned activities like do-it-yourself calming jars.
The program is also offered to middle school girls during summer school in an effort to better tailor the program to the needs of different age ranges.
Aiming to support even more students, Eisch-Ermis has been working behind-the-scenes with an anonymous donor who has donated $20,000 towards a boy’s version of H.E.R. at the Oconto High School. This version, taught by male instructors chosen by Eisch-Ermis, will begin in April and will surround fitness, nutrition and men’s mental health.
Now funded through the Bellin Foundation, H.E.R. is able to remain completely free for the girls involved and they receive a three-month free membership to the Bellin fitness center to continue practicing what they have learned as well as use the center as a safe space.
Eisch-Ermis shared that she is “extremely fortunate that people are believing in this program and understanding how important this is.”
Throughout the five times Eisch-Ermis has run H.E.R., she has been able to forge bonds with the girls as a trusted adult in their lives and make lasting memories.
A favorite memory of hers is when she extended an invite to the girls for the Bellin Health Marinette 5K Heart Run/Walk and offered to pay for their entrance fee if they came. Eight young women took Eisch-Ermis up on the offer and completed the 5K.
Having worked closely with over 60 girls and forged lasting bonds, Eisch-Ermis noted, “I don’t have a typical girl in mind for who this program is for...this group is for anybody.”
The H.E.R. program will begin its next cohort at Oconto High School on Jan. 28. For more information about the H.E.R. program or how to bring H.E.R. to another school district, contact Kacey Eisch-Ermis at Kasey.EischErmis@bellin.org.
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