COURTESY OF TLC FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER
CLAREMONT — TLC Family Resource Center recently welcomed the arrival of the newly detailed SHINE Mobile. The vehicle will be used to expand the sexual health wellness education initiative of the Sexual Health Information Network and Education (SHINE) program and help promote all the programs at TLC throughout the community.
SHINE is an inclusive health enrichment program for young people, to bring medically-accurate, comprehensive and inclusive sexual health information to locations throughout Sullivan County.
“There are 2,500 teens in Sullivan County, the SHINE program currently reaches about 75 students per year. We realized it was imperative for us to make a change so that we can start having the much-needed conversations about sexual health and wellness and reach more students,” said Executive Director Maggie Monroe-Cassel.
The idea of a mobile presence was first introduced by former SHINE coordinator Liza Draper. She had heard of other mobile units that spark conversations about sexual health and share information to help teens make responsible decisions about relationships.
“Studies show that if teens are educated about sexual health and relationships, they wait longer to start having sex. We need to educate our teens — not with another website but with face-to-face conversation, which we will be able to do with the SHINE Mobile,” Monroe-Cassel continued. ”Wouldn’t it be great if teens were able to be teens and not parents?”
Last March, TLC received a $25,000 grant in the 2018 AMP NH Awards, sponsored by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneur’s Fund of New Hampshire Grant Program, to help purchase a vehicle that will allow TLC to reach more teens to teach about sexual health and relationships.
“The grant process was challenging but the stakes are high to keep teens safe. In Sullivan County, the teen birth rates are twice that of the state and reported cases of gonorrhea have gone up 250%. We felt compelled to take action,” said Monroe-Cassel.
TLC is looking for events the SHINE Mobile and program should be attending. If you have an event, please contact us at 603-542-1848 ext. 322 or [email protected].
TLC Family Resource Center supports and strengthens all families, children, and youth of Sullivan and Lower Grafton counties with a wide range of free programs, support groups, education, and events. Visitwww.tlcfamilyrc.org for more information about SHINE and the agency.
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