Collaboration, Innovation, Prevention & Education: Our 2014-15 CORE Grantees!

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The Oregon School-Based Health Alliance is excited to announce the 2014-2015 CORE grant projects! This year’s cohort recently convened during the annual SBHC Conference to share project updates, work collaboratively to develop effective outreach strategies, and gain new knowledge and insight that will improve their efforts to initiate and strengthen healthy youth relationship (HYR) prevention and education activities in the following communities.       

Ashland and Eagle Point High Schools – Jackson County

The SBHC Coordinators at Ashland and Eagle Point High School are teaming up to hit the ground running this fall by implementing similar projects and building off of each other’s strengths/lessons learned.

School-Wide HYR Awareness Week

The SBHC Coordinators at Ashland and Eagle Point High School are excited to establish and engage Youth Advisory Councils in planning and implementing a school-wide HYR awareness campaign in the fall of 2014. Similar to “spirit week”, students will promote healthy youth relationships using posters, morning announcements, and tabling activities during lunch. They will also use these outreach opportunities to highlight their SBHC’s services and hours.

HYR Student Group – 4th R Curriculum

Ongoing HYR prevention and education activities will continue throughout the year. SBHC Coordinators plan to co-lead components of the 4th curriculum in collaboration with Behavioral Health Specialists on a monthly basis. The 4th R curriculum focuses on helping young people learn skills and information that support the development of healthy youth relationships. Cross-over between participants in YAC and 4th R is likely and encouraged.
 
Monthly Seat Stall Journals
 
Students will translate HYR messaging into a language accessible to their peers by developing “Seat Stall Journals”. Monthly Seat Stall Journals will be placed in school restrooms, and will cover a variety of topics and local community resources related to healthy youth relationships. SBHCs are encouraged to incorporate messaging in Seat Stall Journals that fosters student engagement with the SBHC staff and services. For example, posters could promote an incentive for the first three students who walk into the SBHC and answer a Myth/Truth question about healthy youth relationships.
 
Prospect and Butte Falls Charter Schools – Jackson County
 
Collaborative Youth Advisory Group (CYAG)
 
Prospect and Butte Falls Charter School have adopted a collaborative approach in promoting healthy youth relationships by establishing a Collaborative Youth Advisory Group (CYAG). Each high school is utilizing their well-established Youth Advisory Group to make a collective impact on the health of their peers. The CYAG at will meet 5 times throughout the school year to plan outreach and awareness activities that address physical/mental abuse, bullying, and healthy youth relationships. The CYAG will gain in-depth knowledge of community resources available by taking 3 field trips and attending community workshops at local agencies such as the local Sexual Assault Response Team, Community Works, DHS, the Sherriff’s Office, and Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). In turn, they will use this in-depth knowledge to be self-identified health advocates – sharing critical information with their peers as needed.
 
School-Wide Awareness Campaigns
 
The CYAG will use the information and skills gained during field trips and workshops to plan and implement school-wide awareness campaigns in the spring of 2015. Potential Awareness Activities may include: daily announcements, student assemblies, poster campaigns, social media/social marketing campaign (e.g., blog, Facebook). The SBHC Coordinators envision a project that incorporates school-wide input which guides the CYAG in planning awareness activities.
 
Pendleton High School – Umatilla County 
OSBHA is excited to work with the Pendleton High School SBHC in Umatilla County, as it is a rural site in Eastern Oregon and this is their first time applying for CORE funding. OSBHA’s Member Services Program Manager and Member Services Director met with the SBHC Coordinator of in the spring and summer of 2014. Based off of our initial introductions and site visit, OSBHA is excited for what the 2014-2015 school year holds for the students at Pendleton High School!
 
SBHC Outreach to Students and School Partners
 
The SBHC Coordinator at the Pendleton High School SBHC has a background in health education. She is working in collaboration with the Mental Health Specialist and health teachers at Pendleton High School to co-lead presentations introducing the basic concepts of healthy youth relationships, promote the Futures Without Violence Student Group, and update/educate students of SBHC services and hours.

Futures Without Violence Student Group
 
During the summer of 2014, the SBHC Coordinator and Mental Health Specialist finalized components of a Futures Without Violence curriculum that has been successfully implemented and remains highly recommended by Umatilla County Public Health. The curriculum will be designed to increase knowledge of and skills in healthy youth relationships. The group will be available for teens who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced teen dating violence.
 
School-Wide Awareness Campaign
 
The SBHC Coordinator intends to convene a group of youth to plan a school-wide HYR Awareness Campaign during one school day in the spring of 2015.  Awareness Day activities may include: sharing messages/information at a table during lunch, creating custom t-shirts for youth and adults involved in the project, a school-wide poster campaign, providing giveaways, and social media marketing/messaging. Specific content/topics of awareness day will be determined by the youth and based upon what they find most important/relevant to share with their peers.
 
Sacagawea Health Center – St. Helens High School in Columbia County
 
OSBHA is excited to continue to offer CORE grant funding to support the Teen Health Advocacy Team at St. Helens High School in Columbia County. They have an established track record of success and generated a “buzz” in the St. Helens High School environment. The SBHC Coordinator of Columbia County will co-lead the THAT Club with the Early Childhood Education teacher once per week during the 2014-2015 school year.  They have ambitious plans for 2014-2015, which progressively build upon project activities they’ve mastered over the years.
 
School-Wide Health Fair
 
The goal of the January school-wide health fair is to link students and SBHC staff to local health resources and information for all adolescent relationship-and sexual health needs. THAT Club participants will invite local HYR community organizations to school-wide health fair planned and implemented with the high school’s health education teacher. They will use the health fair to generate momentum for the HYR workshop series they will launch in February 2015.
 
Healthy Youth Relationship Workshop Series

During the month of February, THAT club members will help coordinate 4 workshops on topics that students found useful during 2013-2014 school year. THAT club members will invite community partners such as SAFE and the Sacagawea Health Center to deliver sexual health prevention/education information and skill-building activities. The SBHC Coordinator of Columbia County will collaborate with community partners to develop  leadership roles for THAT club members during the workshops that are offered.
 
Social Media/Social Marketing Campaigns
 
The SBHC Coordinator of Columbia County is relatively new to the world of social media and social marketing but enthusiastic to learn how best to integrate this strategy to increase adolescents’ awareness of HYR topics. She plans on collaborating with THAT Club members to advertise weekly workshops through daily announcements, poster campaigns, social media campaigns, distributing flyers, and tabling during lunch.
 
Awareness Day - Grassroots Youth Advocacy Training
 
The THAT Club Members will receive youth advocacy training by attending Awareness Day in 2015. During Awareness Day, THAT Club members will have the opportunity to meet with state legislators and collaborate with other Youth Advisory Councils from across the state.