The Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit in New York

Formerly known as Adolescent Reproductive Health Programs, the Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit (SRHU) has worked with youth-serving organizations for (xx) years. Through that time, they have developed a number of resources for usage by Teens in New York City. One of the most notable resources is their Clinic Guide, a wallet sized guide to clinics in New York City, in all five boroughs that provide low-cost and confidential services to teens as well as those of legal adult age. While they had been providing resources such as the clinic guide for a number of years, there was never a clear way for them to ensure their proper use and distribution. This past year, they developed the Teens in NYC: Getting Sexual Health Services Workshop Facilitation Guide. The workshop is designed for use with teens aged 13-19 and can be used by any person who is comfortable with the material, regardless of whether or not they have any prior health education history. Featuring a role-play and an activity, which explicitly requires use of either the Clinic Guide or the mobile app developed for use, the workshop would ensure that teens are properly instructed and exposed to the clinic guide and the possibilities for receiving services in New York City.

In developing this guide, ARHP/SRHU was addressing a major concern in regards to adolescent sexual and reproductive health: knowledge about accessibility of resources and the proper contraceptive methods to use for optimal protection against pregnancy and STIs. The workshop developed by ARHP had been designed with pre and post surveys in order to accurately assess the impact of the workshop on the participants. The surveys assessed the teens knowledge about parental permission, free services, whether ...

... middle of paper ...

...ions they may have had regarding the workshop. Following that orientation, my focus moved to that of spreading the message that our contractors were now available to perform the workshop and if someone wanted to facilitate the workshop themselves, they were able to. For the remainder of February and into early March, we were in contact with various organizations about advertising with them and collaborating to share our message.

One of these meetings included a conference call with administrators from the New York City Department of Education in which we collectively brainstormed methods to share the information and workshop with teachers to perform in the classroom. This conference call eventually led up to me and my preceptor, Jacqueline Quinones-Lugo, presenting our workshop during a meeting of the Office of School Health division of the Department of Eduaction.