P.A.U.S.E Peers Advocating for Unified Services and Education

Vital Stats

Sharvin B

Gainesville, FL

  • people helped40
  • People Doing It30

The Problem

The problem the project is trying to solve is the low education level that teens have when it comes to getting linked to care and resources. Researched has shown that many teens rely on their peers for information and advice, but the problem is that most teens are given the wrong information or resources. The problem that needs to be solved is how educated these teens are when it comes to linkage of community resources and their rights as teenagers. This program is empowering and training these teens to become peer advocates within their communities and social networks. Teens ranging from ages 13-18 are the primary focus, due to an increase in HIV, STDs, and teenage pregnancy. We have worked with East Side High School and the Alachua County Schools in this effort.

Plan of Action

The steps I have taken to implement this project is to get into the teen communities and recruit 15-20 students throughout North Florida to attend the one day PAUSE training. This training is focused to empower while educating these teens on how to become advocates for these available resources that exist in the community. We want these teens to be able to link their peers and friends to the correct resources depending upon the situation. We have launched the project twice and has had great results. Once the training is complete teens text questions that they recieve from their peers and friends and the resource they were linked to. We also help prepare these teens for High School graduation by giving them volunteer hours for attending the training. They are linked to us directly to answer any questions about college life, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities.
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Sex and Relationships

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