New Sex And Relationships Education Service To Offer Online, Text And Face To Face Support For Young People In London

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 28 Aug 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Terrence Higgins Trust has been awarded £432,000 by the Big Lottery Fund's Young People's Fund 2 programme to offer sexual health counselling, mentoring support and volunteering opportunities for 10 - 18 year olds in London. Support will be offered online, via text and through face to face counselling.

The working title of the project, chosen in consultation with young people, is T2T (an abbreviation of Talk to Terry) but the final name will be selected by a young people's executive group. The executive group will help design, implement and deliver the service. The three year project will begin in September 2009 and is aimed at young people who are concerned about sex, sexuality, relationships, sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STI's) as well as the wider range of issues that impact their lives.

The executive group will be key to the development of the project. Young people will help identify the themes needed for an online information and guidance section and will be encouraged to utilise the knowledge they gain through this work by becoming Peer Mentors, supporting other young people and helping them set and achieve goals. In return for their volunteering efforts they will receive Open College Network accreditation on Peer Mentoring and Life Skills.

Christine Mead, Head of Wellbeing Services at Terrence Higgins Trust said "This is a breakthrough for THT in our drive to develop more comprehensive services, led by young people for young people. By using technology we are aiming to reach out to a growing number of young people who ordinarily may not have engaged with traditional services. This fund enables us to bridge the gaps between mental and sexual health as it looks at the wellbeing of the whole person. In our experience, young people may prefer to talk to their peers about these issues and this service lets them access both peer mentoring and counselling."

Young people who are interested in getting involved in the executive group which will steer this project can find out more by contacting Banjo Aromolaran at banjo.arom@tht.org.uk

Source
Terrence Higgins Trust

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