Education, Programming and Advocacy are Key Elements
Did you know that Lynn is ranked one of the 25 communities in Massachusetts with a high teen birth rate? The Department of Public Health reported that Lynn’s teen birth rate was more than three times the State’s rate in 2016.
“It is important to provide teens in Lynn with comprehensive sex education that includes abstinence and to help them access family planning services because Lynn’s teen birth rate is more than three times the state’s teen birth rate according to the Department of Public Health. Lynn is at 29.2% and the State’s rate is 8.9%. Teen pregnancy can lead to a higher school dropout rate as well as economic ramifications for communities,” notes Bridger Brewer, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Supervisor.
Leaders from Girls Inc. of Lynn attended the event at the State House earlier this year and also spoke to Representative Dan Cahill and Jon Thibault, a legislative director in Senator Brendan Crighton’s office. The team asked the government officials to support the ROE Act and the Healthy Youth Act along with family planning funding, teen pregnancy prevention funding and HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C prevention funding.
Girls Inc. of Lynn works in the schools to deliver the National Girls Inc. healthy sexuality education curriculum “Informed and In Charge” which reaches over 1000 students each year. Girls Inc. of Lynn’s Teen Health Ambassadors peer leadership program teaches other young people about healthy sexuality and works to create positive changes in the community.
By the end of the 2017-2018 school year, 1184 students in the Lynn Public Schools completed a 10-session comprehensive sex education program provided by Girls Inc. of Lynn facilitators and have been given the education and tools necessary to make healthy decisions about relationships and their sexual health.