Inside out

Inside Out: Your Body is Amazing Inside and Out and Belongs Only to You is an innovative approach to child abuse prevention that is body-positive, affirming, and empowering. Replacing programs that place the burden on prevention on the child, the diverse children in this interactive coloring book teach seven “big” lessons to their peers.

Me too

Me TooTM: Real Talk about Sexuality for People of ALL Abilities. Me Too2 focuses on young people, from middle to high school level. It’s possible to use this manual without the original Me TooTM, but over 45 learning activities in the first manual are referenced in this one. While Me Too2 may be useful as a stand alone resource (there are 22 new activities in Me Too2), I need to share its intent.

The nonnie series

The Nonnie Series addresses challenging topics for children and adults with kindness and respect. This is a series that includes Nonnie Talks About Consent, Nonnie Talks About Gender, Nonnie Talks About Puberty, Nonnie Talks About Death, Nonnie Talks About Race, and Nonnie Talks About Birth.

real talk for real teens

Begun in 1988, Real Talk for Real Teens is an original sexuality education curriculum targeting young people in grades 6 – 12. Class sessions focus on each young person’s worth; vital topics like respect online, using social media, consent, and relationships skills are stressed. The program has been presented to over a quarter million young people in five counties and 48 schools. The teen pregnancy rate in our target group of 15 – 17 year olds dropped from 39/1000 in 1989 to 12/1000 in 2012.

ECHO

ECHO (Educate Children for Healthy Outcomes) is a one-on-one early educational/mentoring program that seeks to recognize young people at risk for early childbearing, violence, drug and alcohol involvement, academic failure and other risky behaviors with a goal of empowering these youth to make healthy choices. Begun in 1999 as a proactive, front line defense against the  cycle of teen pregnancy, ECHO has grown to  expand its focus in positive ways by working to decrease internal poverty, increase self-esteem and self –worth, and improve body image. Research points to clear antecedents to early pregnancy and risky behavior; the children ECHO targets share those antecedents.  From 1999 to 2009, 721 young women who experienced one of the five antecedents for early childbearing (internal and external poverty, abandonment, past child sexual abuse, generational teen pregnancy, and questioning sexuality) were mentored. Only 3 of those young people experience a pregnancy; two were 18 years old and the other 17.

ECHO is unique in that it seeks to reach out to children before the children are at risk. 

PPT (Pregnant and Parenting Teen Program):  

Begun by Dr. Podgurski as a volunteer in the seventies, this program connects skilled mentors with young parents. Our primary goals are: supporting young parents through pregnancy and birth, modeling positive parenting, and helping young parents remain in school, graduate and obtain employment or advance their educations.

An example of the PPT’s success is our graduation. Nationally, teen parents graduate around 30% of the time, depending on the year. Our teen parents’ graduate in between 84 – 100% of the time; in 2017, 28 of our teen parents were eligible for graduation and 28 successfully completed their curricula and walked with their graduating classes!

Ambassador for respect

This county-wide program began in 2003. Students in grades 4 – 12 are presented with a topic for respect and taught lessons promoting worthiness. Past topics included Respect for Older Adults, Respect for People of Color, Respect Online, and Self-Respect.

Adolescent Advisory Board

Begun in 1999, the Board consists of 6 -10 high school students from count schools. The Board members meet monthly at the Washington Hospital, where the Community Room is packed with 70 plus energetic, dynamic teens. Each spring the Board conducts a Youth Conference where 9th graders are invited to attend while Board members facilitate on contemporary topics. Past Youth Conference topics have been Mental Health, Civic Discourse, Respect for Culture, and Drug/Alcohol Abuse. Pre/post tests at the conferences show an increase in cognition and affective responses to the topic.

common ground teen center

Located at 92 N. Main Street in Washington, PA, the Teen Center was opened in 2008.  The Teen Center is run by local teens; Dr. Podgurski hires and trains six – ten 17-18-year-old teens every May. Last year’s team mentors the new staff in June and the new team takes over in July. The teen staff are backed up by Dr. Podgurski’s W & J students and peer educator alumni under 25. All activities are teen driven. Teens 13 – 18 are always welcome.

The Center is open every Monday – Friday evening. Hours vary by the event. Monday nights are Dungeon and Dragon nights and the Center is open from 3 – 8 PM. Tuesday and Thursday nights the Center offers free tutoring (by appointment) and opens from 3 – 7 PM. Wednesdays are Peer Educator nights and are open from 3 – 8 PM. Fridays are open 3 – 7 PM, unless a Movie Night is held, when the Center remains open until 10:30 PM. Special events, like Peer Educator Trainings, are held on the weekends.

At least two teen events happen each month. For example. 11/20/19 was the Center’s Thanksgiving Feast, with a full turkey dinner. The Holiday Party is 12/18/19. Crochet artist Cheryl Hopper teaches crochet on Thursdays through December. During the summer, a Skype class on creating change was held weekly.  The Peer Educators plan to create videos in 2020 to address contemporary issues like social media and teen mental health. A parent Let’s Talk on these topics will accompany the video release.

Peer educators

Begun in 1995, these young people are trained to teach with Dr. Podgurski and her staff. A comprehensive, 12 hour training prepares young people to share their wisdom and find their voices. Teens teaching younger students – 7th graders are typically targeted – are an extremely effective way to help with message retention. Dr. Podgurski often says a message given by an older teacher is a whisper compared to the shout of a peer educator. To date, over 15,000 peer educators have been trained. They go on to become leaders in college as RAs and peer leaders, they move onto the military where they excel and quickly move up in rank, and they enter the workforce as managers and leaders. Peer Educators have taught professionals at national conferences with Dr. Podgurski since 1997. They meet every Wednesday at the Common Ground Teen Center. They have their own teaching manual, available on Amazon.

real talk performers

The Performers began in 1996. They are Peer Educators interested in educational drama. They create their own plays, acting as both playwright and student directors. Past topics include peer pressure, labeling, teen pregnancy, LGBTQAI young people, cyberbullying, self-worth, stereotypes, and youth culture. The Real Talk Performers won two state wide youth theater competitions in the past.