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Just wanted to say a BIG WELCOME to our newest GYUPP members, Nichelle, Jerome, and HP! Nichelle and Jerome live in Atlanta and HP lives in Dalton! We are so thankful to add these amazing voices to our advocacy work!
Interested in being a part of GYUPP, or want to learn more about us??
Well, you can:
Come to one of our regional trainings (in Savannah, Dalton, and Atlanta), they are FREE! Just click on this to register or learn more.
Visit us online (C'mon, you know you want to friend us/fan us/follow us/blog with us!!):
www.facebook.com/gyupp
www.twitter.com/gyupp
www.amplifyyourvoice.org/georgia
And visit our parent organizations online, too:
www.gcapp.org
www.advocatesforyouth.org
www.gpower2009.org
I used to live in Athens, GA where I was very active in the ONE Athens Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force. After I moved to Atlanta to work at G-CAPP, I stayed in contact with many of the dear friends and colleagues I made in Athens on the Task Force. One of these colleagues heard about trainings that the Office of Minority Health is doing on Pre-conception.
I jumped at the chance to help out because I really enjoy talking about sex!
The training was scheduled to be at Spelman College this weekend. I was at first a little apprehensive about the terminology “Pre-Conception.” What does that mean? It sounded to me like a Reactive solution rather than a Proactive solution. It also sounded a bit like they were encouraging young people to have babies -- YIKES!
Two thoughts on amplifying our collective voice on this cold winter's day:
1. Happy Kwanzaa! Principle Day 3: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility).
We must learn to build and maintain our communities together. We MUST realize that our brother's and sister's problems are our problems and work responsibily towards solving OUR problems together!
2. Lilla Watson, a Brisbane-based Aboriginal activist and organizer, spoke these words to the social workers and community developers who approached her community:
"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
Activists, bloggers, advocates, how will you join this fight???
I have a couple comments/suggestions.....
First, this curriculum starts in the fourth or fifth grade, so saying "all elementary schoolers" is misleading and incorrect. Perhaps the Editor of the Gainesville Times should consider fact checking before going to print.
Second, this curriculum has been around since the mid 80s when it was developed by the HEALTH DEPARTMENT! It has been shown to increase students’ knowledge in important ways, improve their attitudes about such things as puberty, and increase their confidence in their ability to say “no” and tell an adult. Isn't that what we are all after?
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH/questions.aspx
Third, as CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reported this week, "40% of kids are having sex before getting the sex talk." This data comes from a study done by Journal of Pediatrics. Talking to young people and telling the truth helps them to become empowered to make their own informed decisions about their health.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/12/07/cohen.sex.talk.cnn
Comprehensive Sex Ed is about providing education to our young people so that they can be informed. It's about delaying the onset of sexual behavior. It's about teaching that abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STIs. It's about empowering our young people so that when they do make the decision to engage in sex with their partner, they are educated and prepared to make healthy choices.
What do others think? How can we help the youth of Gainesville?
Hey all,
Check out the video Kristen did at her HS, Dekalb School of the Arts. check out Kristen's presentation at Dekalb School of the Arts! http://b.static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/z4HBM/hash/3krgnmig.swf?v=186915829708&ev=0
Having a great time at our retreat... we are all over social media!
Join us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gyupp
