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TffN VOi(fS PEER EDUCRiiON PR04RM~ Planned Parenthood of Orange and Durham Counties Fact Sheet For more information: Robyn Schryer 820 Broad Street Durham, NC 27705 (919)286-1770 Robyn_Schryer@ppfa.org TEEN VOICES is the adolescent pregnancy prevention and youth development program of Planned Parenthood of Orange and Durham Counties (PPOD). By providing adolescents with medically accurate, factual information, TEEN VOICES empowers teenagers to make responsible choices based on their own ethics and values. • TEEN VOICES involves Durham County high school students in a 40-hour training program that provides information and skill development related to a variety of teen health issues. Peer Educators have the opportunity to cam up to $300 by successfully completing the program. • TEEN VOICES Peer Educators receive training around the issues of sexuality, healthy relationships, abstinence and contraceptive options, suicide prevention, body image and eating disorders, communication and decision making skills, job skills, higher education and goal setting. • PPOD plans to train 45 Peer Educators between March 2000 and March 2001. The TEEN VOICES Peer Educators will potentially educate 1,350 members of the Durham community. • PPOD has partnered with 15 other Durham community organizations to provide TEEN VOICES training. Training partners include Durham County Health Department, North Carolina Lambda Youth Network, Rape Crisis of Durham, and the Yellow Ribbon Youth Suicide Prevention Program. • TEEN VOICES began in March 2000 with funding from the North Carolina Department of Social Services Workfirst Pilot Projects and the Fox Family Foundation of Durham. Peer Education works! Numerous studies show that peer education is an effective way to help youth develop healthy behaviors not only in sexual health but also in violence prevention and substance abuse prevention. (Advocates jar Youth, 1997) • Trained Peer EducaWrs can be a more credible source of information than adult educators. They communicate in a language that is more likely to be understood and serve as positive role models to dispel the normative misconception that most adolescents are engaging in high risk behaviors. (DicIemente, RJ. "Confronting the Challenges of AIDS among adolescents: Directions for Future Research." Journal ofAdolescent Research, 1993) Peer Educators themselves benefit from programs. One study showed clear benefits, such as increased knowledge of HIV,_ an increased comfort discussing sensitive issues, and an appreciation and tolerance of difference life styles for peer educators themselves. (Park 51ope Project Reach Youth, Inc. and Hunter College Center on AIDS, Drugs, and Community Health. Final Report an Project SAFE Evaluation Study, August 1992) What are the numbers?? Although teen pregnancy and birth rates have steadily been declining through the 1990s, 4 out of 10 girls still get pregnant at least once before the age of 20 in the United States. The U.S. still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth of any industrialized country. (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy) • From 1993-1998 Durham County's adolescent pregnancy rate far 15-19 year olds was higher than the state average 5 out of 6 years. In 1998 Durham County's teen pregnancy rate was 87.3 (per 1,000), while the state average was 85.5. (NC Center for Health Statistics, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolinal