St. V's program urges youth to choose abstinence |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS
Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 07 September 2007 00:00 |
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TOLEDO - Adults can tell kids to remain sexually abstinent until marriage, but educators with Positive Choices know that message is more likely to resonate if it comes from their peers.
Which is where teenagers like Richard Cash come in.
Richard, a junior at Toledo Central Catholic High School, has been a leader with the teenage pregnancy prevention program for three years. He pledged to remain abstinent until marriage, and teaches other students why they should do the same.
The program, sponsored by St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, trains high school and college-age youth to mentor younger students and educate their peers about the health benefits of abstaining from pre-marital sex, alcohol and drugs.
Richard became involved six years ago, and was eventually was asked to become a leader. He says that he reasons he has a better chance of staying abstinent if he hangs around with other abstinent teens.
According to abstinence educator Adan Madrigal, Positive Choices usually has between 40 and 50 teen leaders. They create a support system for one another, and some stay involved even into college.
We have kids that have been in Positive Choices for years, he says.
Throughout northwest Ohio, certified abstinence educators and peer mentors from Positive Choices present their message to more than 4,000 children in grades 5 through 12 every year.
Since 1996, the community-based program has strived to improve the health and wellbeing of youth by decreasing teen sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
Director Connie Cameron notes Positive Choices is not a just say no program, but takes a comprehensive approach to teaching about character, respect and responsibility, and relationships.
We provide youth and their parents with medically accurate information, and then we give them the skills to make healthier decisions in their lives, she says.
Educators teach at sites ranging from schools and churches to treatment centers and homeless shelters. Presentations are given in school, after school and during the summer, and parents are invited to activities that help them improve communication with their children.
Students learn sexual abstinence is the only 100 percent certain way to avoid pregnancy, HIV or STDs. They also study the emotional and physical consequences of early sexual activity, and the impact of drugs and alcohol on judgment.
The program specializes in working with high-risk populations and vulnerable groups that are typically underserved. Such groups include children in the juvenile justice system, children in foster homes, teen parents, and teenagers with developmental and behavioral disabilities.
Teens with developmental disabilities are particularly neglected when it comes to sex education, says program coordinator Kathy Okuley, yet are statistically the most likely to suffer sexual abuse.
Parents, school systems, health educators want to believe that they're never going to have the hormonal changes that the rest of adolescents do, but they do, she adds. So they're dealing and struggling with relationships the same as any typical teen, but nobody wants to talk to them about it.
Positive Choices encourages youth to stay involved in programming from as early as age 9 through high school, when they can train as teen leaders. Educators become their role models and mentors.
Even the most high-risk youth have really changed their outlook and changed their decisions about what they want to do with their lives, based on their relationship with our educators, says Ms. Cameron.
The program encourages youth to set goals by sponsoring activities like college campus tours for its teen mentors, many of whom would be first-generation college students.
We say, it is within your grasp and we'll help you do it, says Ms. Okuley.
Youth appreciate the high standards held by Positive Choices, Ms. Cameron adds. Many say it is the first time they have heard that they have the choice to be sexually abstinent.
We hear that over and over again, and we tell them that there is a choice, says Ms. Cameron. And there are reasons to make healthier choices.
For more information, visit www.positivechoicestoledo.com.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 08:38 |
