FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
CONTACT:
|
Bill
Barker |
| July 11, 2000 |
|
(202) 419-3420 |
Advocates for
Youth Peer Educator to Address Young People at NAACP
Convention
Youth Works to Solve Problems Facing African
American Teens
WASHINGTON, DC (July 11, 2000) At the 91st Convention of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),
an Advocates for Youth peer educator calls on young people to protect
themselves from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS is the third leading cause of death among
African American women age 25-44, and first among African
American men in the same age group. "These young men and women contracted
HIV/AIDS during their teen years. I believe it is my responsibility as
a peer educator to make sure that my friends, and any teens I can reach,
know how to avoid not only HIV/AIDS and other STDs, but unwanted teen
pregnancies as well," said Nicholle Awkard, Senior Peer Educator
for Advocates for Youth.
A main component of the five-day NAACP convention agenda is to prepare
young people for leadership in the 21st Century through youth workshops,
town hall meetings and a leadership luncheon.
James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth, applauds the efforts
of both the NAACP and the young people involved in the conference. "At
a time when 70% of all U.S. teens are sexually active by age 18, it is
crucial that we give young people the information and the tools they
need to make responsible decisions about their sexual health," said
Wagoner.
In her training, Awkard will be using HIV/AIDS
and the Young African American Woman, a pamphlet created
by an Advocates for Youth peer educator, that helps teens
to identify high-risk situations and to talk with their partners
about contraception and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other
STDs.
"We have the power to take control of our lives. HIV/AIDS is a
major threat to American teens, especially African American teens! It's
time we use the most powerful tool we have to fight the battle against
HIV—our minds," concluded Awkard.
###
Note
to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set
up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact
Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.
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