The Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD) Program works to reduce pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV among youth ages 10-19 years by providing information, building skills and confidence in supportive environments that allow them to flourish as they transition into adulthood.
AHYD collaborates with youth-serving organizations, such as schools, after-school programs, summer camps, and faith-based organizations to provide community-based programming. AHYD also provides parent workshops and training opportunities for youth-serving professionals.
AHYD provides the following community-based services:
Youth-Centered Health Education
- Promotes and coordinates the implementation of age-appropriate, evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention curricula using trained facilitators certified by the Georgia Department of Public Health to implement Making a Difference, Making Proud Choices, and Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH). This curricula aligns with the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) for Health Education for grades 6-12.
- Provides classes and workshops on various adolescent health and youth development topics using knowledgeable, non-judgmental facilitators who make learning about sensitive topics engaging and fun.
- The Teen EXPerience is an interactive series of candid conversations with teens ages 15-19 on topics such as:
- Bullying
- Drugs & Alcohol Use
- Healthy Relationships & Teen Dating Violence Prevention
- Online Safety
- Puberty & Hygiene
- Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity
- Teen Pregnancy and STI/HIV Prevention
- Undoing Gender Stereotypes
Youth Empowerment
The Youth Advisory Council helps to build leadership skills by providing opportunities for young people to advocate effectively and raise awareness of important issues in their community. To recommend a youth for membership email Alexis.Smith@dph.ga.gov.
Community Outreach
The AHYD Program partners with youth-serving organizations to host events and provide information on adolescent health-related issues through social media, Parent “Talks”, community health fairs, and youth summits.
Parent Engagement
AHYD provides parents/caregivers with information about emerging adolescent health-related issues and offers tips on how to talk with their young person about sensitive topics to create healthy environments where on-going conversations can occur.
Professional Development
The AHYD Program:
- Provides training opportunities on adolescent-related topics for youth-serving professionals, parents, and interested community members.
- Identifies and connects potential facilitators to Trainer of Educator (TOE) opportunities in order to ensure and improve on the experience that organizations are providing for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention curricula.
- Provides training to clinic staff to promote practices and suggest policies that are youth-centered to increase the quality of adolescent care visits.
If you are interested in becoming a trained facilitator, accessing our educational services, or collaborating with the AHYD Program, contact our Healthcare Program Manager, Dr. LaJoyce Brown-Lewis at Mary.Brown-Lewis@dph.ga.gov.