Last week, peer health educators from Minnesota joined 150 other young change-makers for Lift as we Climb, the inaugural Teen Council Summit in Washington D.C. The Teen Council Program is an educational model that trains teen members to present medically-accurate sexuality information to their peers and other members of their communities.
PEER LED SEX ED
The experience focused on connecting youth to build and share peer education skills and to advance their roles as future leaders within Planned Parenthood and their communities. Teen Council members from Twin Cities, Duluth, and Rochester also led sessions for their peers on a range of topics including healthy relationships, female circumcision, and inclusive sexuality education.
On the final night of the Summit, the inimitable Sonya Renee, a former peer educator and remarkable spoken word poet, delivered an inspiring message.
ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
Teen Council peer educators work every day to advance sexual health education and reproductive justice in their own communities—and last week they became an unstoppable force on Capitol Hill. Rochester teen, Maya Alfred, helped kick off Lobby day right by leading chants for the crowd at the bright pink rally.
After the rally, Minnesota youth met with Congressional staff from the offices of Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Tim Walz, Rep. Rick Nolan, Sen. Al Franken, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar to share their personal stories and powerful perspectives on sex ed and reproductive health policies.
Tags: minnesota, teencouncil