“The reasons Teen Council members give for being part of the program often has to do with their own experience with sex education. A lot of them have told us that they didn’t receive much sex education in school, or maybe they didn’t get any at all. The fact that these teens are passionate about this topic makes me feel a lot better about things in the world ó they are going to really make change, not just when they’re in Teen Council but beyond.”
- Sarah P., PPMM health educator and co-facilitator of Teen Council in San Jose
Our donors and supporters helped PPMM launch Teen Council in Silicon Valley last year, training high school students to provide sex education and health services outreach for their peers. And now you have paved the way for PPMM Education to expand the program to San Joaquin County in 2020.
Members of Teen Council, a nationwide evidence-informed program, are ages 14 to 18 and apply to the leadership program from schools throughout a PPMM county. Throughout the year-long program, Teen Council members learn how to deliver sex education lessons about topics ranging from healthy relationships, consent, intimate partner violence, STIs/STDs and unplanned pregnancy prevention, and LGBTQ+ equity and health care access, for example. These well-trained educators provide sex ed at local high schools and middle schools, community events, or at health fairs in their community.
PPMM Education has been so successful in implementing Teen Council in San Jose that the program is now headed to Stockton, thanks to your support. PPMM’s partnerships with organizations such as the Children’s Home of Stockton and local schools has also made this an ideal location for the next Teen Council.
“Expanding our peer education programs is essential to reaching youth at every life stage,” said PPMM’s Associate Vice President of Education Courtney Macavinta. “Who better than their PPMM-trained peers to create safe and engaging spaces to explore age-appropriate sex ed?”
Stockton Teen Council members will be recruited from all areas of San Joaquin County to ensure a diverse team that will be able to connect with people from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, as well as gender identities. The goals of this year-long program include reaching at least 200 people through education and outreach, planning and conducting a minimum of five peer-led sex ed workshops, and holding two “condom-outreach events” in the community to increase awareness of PPMM services.
Thanks to you, young people can get the information they need from those they trust the most.
Tags: teen council, peer_educators, sex_ed