Tulsa Nonprofit 'Teens Excelling Beyond' Opens Home, Safe Space For Girls

Cars filled the street and people filled the room for the ribbon-cutting at Teens Excelling Beyond's new home.

"Today is a huge milestone for teens excelling beyond," said Cassandra Prear.

Prear is the founder of the nonprofit and said this was her childhood home. Now, it's reopened as a safe place for teen girls to feel seen and loved.

"Having a space like this is home. It's intimate. Somewhere that they can call home. We can give them more, address their issues more one-on-one basis, and that's what we're, our mission is to help one teen at a time thrive," said Prear.

She said many of the girls they help come from bad or even dangerous situations. The foundation's goal is to teach them valuable life skills, but also address any trauma they may have.

"They're provided with a variety of mental health type services, whether it be group, whether it be individual, it can be play therapy, it can be music therapy, we are going to explore them all," said board member Ikia Young, LPC.

Young has been friends with Prear for over 30 years. As a licensed counselor, she's worked with domestic violence victims, DHS, group homes and more. She said nobody has to be a product of their environment.

"All of that good and that beauty and that love can absolutely outweigh some of the negative things that child may have experienced," Young said.

The foundation doesn't want to stop at one home but open up several so girls of all ages have somewhere they can grow and feel safe.

"We're utilizing this home as a stepping stone to get where we need to be, but we're gonna have houses all over the place. Individual homes where these girls can go, because believe it or not, it's a great need out there," Prear said.

Teens Excelling Beyond is still looking for a couple things to make sure the space is ready for the girls to call home. If you are interested in donating to the foundation, CLICK HERE.