The YEAH! Network uses research, advocacy, and community education and collaboration to influence policy and practice in adolescent sexual health. By articulating a common agenda among diverse local, state, and national stakeholders, we are working to create an informed, empowered, and engaged response to teen pregnancy and sexual health disparities in Hampden County.
Mayor Elaine Pluta speaks about the importance of a community wide response to the issue of teen pregnancy. The event (which was covered by channel 3 news ) was attended by members of recently convened Holyoke task force, members of the Holyoke Board of Health, teens from both Girls Inc and the YEAH! Network AAB, as well as community members and parents.
Jacquline Yos, mother of 2 Holyoke teens, speaks about why she supports comprehensive science based sex education in the schools, with translation by Teresa Vazquez.
Kevin Garcia, a long time member of the AAB, speaks about his mind on teen pregnancy and the importance of sex education in the high school. He is surrounded by members of Girls Inc. and the AAB.
In anticipation of the school committee meeting on March 15, 2010, 3 members of the Holyoke Adolescent Advisory Board met at Holyoke Health Center to collect signatures from Holyoke residents in support of comprehensive science based sex education.
Despite a very slow day at the health center, the girls were very successful and proactive. They approached people to ask for their support, explaining who they were and why comprehensive sex ed is so important to them. After only 1 hour, they managed to collect 27 letters - pretty much a letter from everyone who walked in the door!
We are very proud of Keishabell, Christabell and Krizia and thank them for their hard work and dedication!
Today the YEAH Network Adolescent Advisory Board (AAB) and Ambassadors from Girls Inc. met with Mayor Elaine Pluta in the City Council Chambers. They discussed their concerns about teen sexual health, presented the most recent data and shared what they felt contributed most to the high rates of teen birth and sexually transmitted diseases in the community.
Key Issues identified by the teens:
The poor self image of some young girls in Holyoke due to the perception that Holyoke girls "just get pregnant."
Incomplete or poorly taught sex education in the public schools
The need for sex education at the middle school level in order to prevent unhealthy sexual health behaviors
The teens made recommendations that included:
Better sex education
Involving teens in the process of implementing changes
A “big one:" getting parents to talk to teens about sexual health issues
Increased access to work opportunities for teens in order to keep teens engaged in positive work
Working on these issues at a faster pace, especially since the high rates of teen birth and sexually transmitted infection has been a chronic problem in the community.
The teens specifically asked Mayor Pluta how they can help implement the recommendations of the Redevelopment Committee of the City Council that focus on reducing the high rates of teen birth and sexually transmitted infections in Holyoke.
It was amazing to see the leadership and confidence of these young women and men! The meeting ended with a discussion about specific steps that the teens can take in the next few weeks to be part of Holyoke’s plan to improve the sexual health of teens.
Next steps: 1. The YEAH Network Adolescent Advisory Board, under the direction of Teresa Vazquez, will be hosting a table at the Holyoke Health Center on Friday afternoon to collect signatures from Holyoke residents supporting comprehensive science based sexual health education.
2. Members of the Adolescent Advisory Board will attend the School Committee meeting on Monday, March 15th to support the approval of the sex ed curriculum.
I am delighted to report that teens from the YEAH! Network’s Holyoke High School, Adolescent Advisory Board (AAB) will be meeting with the newly elected Mayor of Holyoke, Elaine Pluta, on March 11, 2010. The purpose of the meeting is for the teens to express their thoughts and voice their opinions regarding the high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in their community. Each teen will tell the Mayor his or her recommendations of what should occur to combat these issues and will explain why their recommendations should be implemented.
How did the teens get to this point of wanting to talk to the Mayor?
Through leadership lessons, teens learned what it takes to become a good leader, what it is to be an advocate, how to advocate and ways their voices could be heard. As part of the leadership skills lessons, teens were asked to pick an issue that affected their lives that they would like to address. After compiling a list of different issues, they chose teenage pregnancy as their topic.
When I first spoke to the teens about the opportunity to speak to the Mayor about their chosen topic, although nervous and feeling a bit intimidated by the prospect, I was pleasantly surprised that the majority were willing and eager to take the opportunity to speak their minds.
So I say good luck to my teens knowing that they will do well, for what they will let the Mayor know comes from the heart and life experience!
Stay tuned for insight from the teens themselves regarding this experience!
