¡Hablando Claro Springfield!

Latinos Speak out about Adolescent Health! 

 

A group of 10 Springfield parents gathered on March 3rd to discuss what the Latino community can do to take a stronger leadership role in improving the sexual health of youth. The purpose of the discussion was to highlight the voices of Latino parents as well as their contribution to finding solutions to a health crisis that disproportionately impacts Latino youth.

Below are some of the major themes from the discussion:

• There exists a difference in views and perceptions of teen sexual health between generations of Latinos.  Younger Latino parents support educating their children about sexual health and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.

• We need to engage men and boys in the dialogue about teen sexual health and increase their role in addressing the high rates of sexually transmitted infectionss and pregnancy in the youth population. We should highlight the importance of healthy relationships.

• We need to get more information out to the Latino community about this issue in order to increase awareness and provide parents and care givers with the information they need to communicate better with their children about sexual health issues.

The discussion provided a wealth of information that has planted the seeds for the next actions steps. The YEAH Network thanks the participants of this group for being informed, empowered and engaged in improving the sexual health of youth and taking steps to strengthen our families!