The Retreat was founded in 2006 as a community outreach program for women and teens. For over three years the program focused specifically on community, offering adolescent mentoring programs, opportunities for students to design self-esteem shirts, presentations for women and school assemblies. We’ve been reaching out to residential treatment centers, establishing relationships with school systems, and developing a network of support for women and teens to learn about self-worth in an entertaining setting. In a four week program, teens in the Juvenile Justice system have talked about the struggles of fitting in. Women’s community associations received life tools for improving body image and feelings of inadequacy. Community coalitions have discussed the research Cauliflower Retreat collected on the pressures teens face, and even more important highlighted the solutions that will help them endure.

In 2009 nearly 600 teens took a survey which uncovered a solution that would forever change the Retreat. Teens shared that having a support network is the top solution to dealing with all of this pressure. Support, it’s about having someone to turn to when the pressure hits. It is about having someone ready to bring out the best in you, when you are having a hard time seeing the best in yourself. It is time to open that support network up to as many people as we can. It is time to share this support with you.