For the past 10 years PPSDRC has been utilizing peer education programs to reach youth in the San Diego Community. PPSDRC assists schools in developing and maintaining peer education programs.

Youth in PPSDRC’s Peer Education Program receive extensive training on health, sexuality, advocacy, presentation techniques and answering difficult questions. Once training is completed, the peers are expected to provide presentations to not only their high schools but other schools, on reproductive health and sexuality issues.

Benefits of Peer Education programs:

• Peer education is a rare opportunity for young people to develop and sustain leadership and facilitation skills that will serve them well in both the short-term and the long-term.
  
• Peer educators model positive youth behavior, affecting social norms, as well as model constructive relationships between adults and young people — qualities which are all too rare in our society.
  
• In some situations, such as discussing sex or the nuances of teen culture, peers can achieve a level of comfort and trust that is difficult for adults to match.
  
• Research also suggests that programs for youth which are developed through a partnership of youth and adults may be highly effective in building young people's skills and reducing their sexual risk-taking behaviors.

View a sample peer education program. (Note: programs can be tailored to an individual school's need.)

For more information about the Peer Education program, please contact the Peer Education Coordinator at 619-881-4551 or email jfuentecilla@planned.org.