Planned Parenthood Los Angeles' Ujima Program provides reproductive health information and promotes responsible sexual behavior to teens in South Los Angeles, which has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Los Angeles. Ujima is a Swahili term that stands for collective work and responsibility. It embodies the program's goal of building and maintaining our community together and making our brother's and sister's problems our problems and solving them together. The program reflects the importance of peer educators to teens, for example, as well as the need to be a non-judgmental, confidential resource for them.

The Ujima Program has several components:

• Youth Advisory Council
  Local youth form this council and they advise Planned Parenthood Los Angeles on services and programs so that they are relevant to South Los Angeles teens. They help establish policies for serving teens and determine how they are delivered, creating teen-friendly practices that will be duplicated throughout Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.
• Peer Advocates
  After 32 hours of training, these advocates engage in grassroots outreach aimed at promoting responsible, safe sexuality. They lead small group workshops called Healthy Love and represent Planned Parenthood Los Angeles at local health fairs. Their street outreach takes place at malls, shopping centers, bus stops, parks -- and anywhere else where teens hang out. These advocates also serve as liaisons for teens wanting to access Planned Parenthood Los Angeles' health services.
• Outreach Educators
  These educators are young adult college interns who teach Planned Parenthood Los Angeles' Responsible Choices sexuality education curriculum. Their work takes them to high schools and adult education schools throughout South Los Angeles.
• Teen Success
  This program provides a weekly supportive environment for pregnant or parenting teens. Teen Success helps adolescent mothers complete their high school education and learn how to develop future goals and plans for themselves and their children.

For more information, please call 323-751-7505, or come to our new teen center at 251 W. 85th Place (at Broadway), South Los Angeles!

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.