Health Education

CAC’s Community Health Education programs – Girl Talk and Men of Honor – are conducted every Thursday evening with adolescents ages 12-18. These programs were initially implemented to prevent teen pregnancy through education on STD’s and the problems associated with early sexual encounters. Both programs began in 2000 with the goal of empowering adolescents to actively determine their futures. Men of Honor and Girl Talk teach young men and women to be accountable for their actions and engages youth in discussions on parenting and building healthy relationships.

Classes provide open forums for discussion on health-related topics. Facilitated by CAC’s Wellness Coordinator, 15 adolescents delve weekly into topics related to physical, social, sexual and emotional health, including abstinence, life skills, self-defense, relationship building, hygiene, nutrition, weight management, self image, risk taking, fatherhood, self respect, and a gamut of other topics.

Health care providers from the community conduct Health Workshops with children and youth at the CAC. Workshop topics have included dental care (flossing, brushing, rinsing), nutrition (balanced eating, cut-the-sugar, etc), sexually transmitted diseases and abstinence education. CAC is grateful to doctors and nurses in the community for talking with our teens about these critical issues.

Health Classes
Ages 7 - 10 mixed, average attendance 20 – 25 per class.

Topics - nutrition, hygiene, substance abuse, conflict resolution, personal safety.

C.O.O.L.
Ages 11 -12, average attendance 10 - 12 per class.

Female related health topics, substance abuse, STD’s, sexual abstinence, conflict resolution, life choices and consequences.

Girl Talk (Middle School)
Average attendance 8 – 10 per class.

Topics - Sexual abstinence, STD’s, female related health, current events, education, life choices, teen pregnancy.

Girl Talk (High School)
Average attendance 6 - 8 per class.

Health, media(includes music lyrics, TV ads, etc…), current events, higher education, career opportunities, STD’s/abstinence.

After School Snack Program
2002 statistics (school age children)

Average amount served in one month – 1215

Total for 2002 (October 2001 to May 2002) – 971