Our foundation, the Raphael Health Foundation, recently came together to work on advancing youth education on making healthy decisions and creating resources to empower them. We ran four outreach programs that focused on educating students from elementary to high school about prevention tactics for early pregnancy and ways to access important healthcare services. We are thrilled with the outcomes and are excited to share them with you!
Types of Activities:
Interactive Workshops: Health professionals led workshops on human anatomy, puberty, healthy relationships, and contraception. Workshops were tailored by the professional for the various age groups and included visuals to explain the content in layman’s terms.
Mythbusting Games: Students were engaged with activities like “mythbusting” where bad habits and myths about sex and relationships were identified. This created another avenue for easy, friendly conversation, and challenged students to think critically.
Guest Speaker Sessions: Local healthcare providers volunteered to answer any and all questions from students, promoting learning and comfort.
Resource Fairs: We coordinated with local schools, clinics and supportive organizations to have an information table and brochures, pamphlets, and resources on family planning services or local support services.
Positive Outcomes:
Increased Knowledge: Students showed an increase in knowledge related to anatomy, contraceptives, and healthy relationships through pre- and post-program surveys.
Empowerment and Confidence: Both programs showed increases in the level of empowerment and confidence students had in discussing relationships and information about their health.
Open Communication: Students said with the interactive workshops that discussing their own health with trusted persons was a lot easier.
Increased Resource Awareness: Students stated the various resource fairs were beneficial to learn about healthcare providers and support groups.
The Impact Beyond Numbers:
We noticed and were informed that some participants were engaging with healthcare professionals with curiosity and calm. The empowerment and confidence along with the enjoyment of the programs was awe-inspiring for the team.
What’s Next:
We are interested in expanding our reach and combining forces with schools, healthcare providers, and other community organizations to assist more youth. Leave your thoughts or experiences with youth and health to help inspire our future! Let’s assist each other in providing a platform and resource to provide power and opportunity for youth to review their own circumstances and decisions around their health!
