Teen+PEP

The full name for (Teen PEP) **New Jersey Teen Prevention Education Program** is a program that basically raises teen awareness for sexual health to help prevent aids and also peer mediating through their highschool years, some even have middle school years. It is a collaborative effort of New Jerseys Department of Health and Services, also Princeton Centor for Leadership and also HiTOPS. It's actually a really unique program for teens to follow up on, not because of what it is, but because of who is doing it. It's a peer to peer program, people often listen better to people in their own age group rather then those of people older or younger.

Seriously, A teen isn't really going to care to talk about the idea of sex with a fifty year old doctor, male or female. They'll just tune it out.

When it comes from someone around your age, it's alot more like... Hey, this guys a potential friend, he's my age, he knows what I am about... yeah I guess he makes sense.



Teen PEP Goals include (Thanks to the website, [])

> > > They are comprised of four participation groups. Skateholder Team includes a principal, an administrator from another school, a health adminstrator, two parent roles, a community representive, and a guidance councilor. The next team - Faculty Advisor Team which is comprised of two or three teachers that can run events and help out with the situations for students. The next team - Peer Education Team which is comprised of sophmores and juniors dedicated to assisting their fellow peers. The final team - Outreach Audience which is a group of usually twenty five students sent to an outreach workshop.
 * "To provide school communities with increased support and resources for promoting sexual health among their student populations
 * To equip school personnel with the knowledge and skills to effectively teach sexual health to peer educators;
 * To create an atmosphere of positive peer pressure where responsible sexual decisions are valued;
 * To provide students with formal and informal opportunities to discuss sexual health issues with adults and peers in an atmosphere of mutual respect and factual discussion;
 * To ensure that students have the knowledge and skills to avoid sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and unintended pregnancy;
 * To support students in the development and maintenance of attitudes that support safer sex practices and responsible decision-making;
 * To motivate students to engage in behaviors associated with avoiding STIs, HIV and unintended pregnancy;
 * Students will increase their use of sexual health resources in the community;
 * To provide parents with the knowledge and skills necessary to communicate with their children about sex and sexuality."