Posts
Roughly 2,000 students from public
and private schools in Houston County attended Tuesday’s teen forum on making
healthy choices. The event at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter
was sponsored by Houston Healthcare and supported by the county school system
and a dozen partner organizations.
“Kids get hundreds of thousands of
messages every day about what choices they should make, and too many of them
are bad messages,” said Atlanta-based motivational speaker and abstinence
educator Jackie Brewton.
When it comes to sex, making the
“right decisions can build your destiny and the life of your dreams,” Brewton
said. “One bad decision could cost you everything.”
To girls feeling pressured to have
sex, Brewton said, “You may lose a boyfriend you really like, but you’ll never
lose a boyfriend who really likes you.” She urged boys facing similar pressures
from a girl to be honest and say, “Baby, I’m going to do what’s best for you
even if you won’t do what’s best for yourself.”
“We’re not here to scare you,” Dr.
Harold Katner of the Mercer University School of Medicine said as he displayed
photos of STD-infected patients. “But we do want to educate you and give you
the truth.”
Beth Jones, Houston Healthcare’s
director of community education and services, said Mercer University does an
annual survey to help identify the issues students are struggling with. “We try
to address those issues, but the theme always comes back to choices,” she said.
“It’s important that these kids see the effects their choices can have.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
